


Of Spice and Men

by Dipdop_Pinetop



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Adult Dipper Pines, Adult Mabel Pines, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempted Sexual Assault, BillDip, College, Fluff, Human Bill Cipher, M/M, NSFW, NSFW will be tagged in chapter summary, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-05-15 20:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5798536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dipdop_Pinetop/pseuds/Dipdop_Pinetop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A college student that refuses to acknowledge his sexuality, and another that will deny his own to his death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Black Sheep

~

The sound of old and new textbook pages turning and flicking against each other filled the stifled air of the room, and became the white noise for a certain student that was still busily cramming for exams. Eventually the dwindling sound died down and ultimately faded away, and all that was left was a small, electronic beep, and a rather irritated, yet quieted groan. The text he received would just have to be his roommate, and it would have to be his roommate’s girlfriend that just happened to find out her car was out of gas – or oil, or whatever it was this time – just as she was about to leave the dorm room, and it would just happen to be oh so convenient for her to stay shacked up with her boyfriend. There was no need for her to sleep on the couch, but there was even less need for the brunet in the library to head back to his dorm. He still needed to study anyway, so he might as well make an all-nighter out of it. When did the library close? Did it ever close? Surely it closes, as no one could really stay up all night working when there’s classes in the morning. But his thoughts were getting onto semantics and social justices rather than biochemistry.

It was probably about four hours after the last college student had left the floor of the library the brunet was seated in that he noticed just how tired he was. All of the words on the pages were beginning to blur together, and even the partial save of his eyesight with the small reading glasses he remembered he brought along was nothing much with the extended use a certain Dipper Pines overexerted. Thumbing his closed eyes from behind the frames, Dipper then laid his head back against the armchair he was curled up in. What time was it anyway? What even was time, man.

**Thud.**

That sound was enough to bring Dipper back to reality, and the brunet slightly jumped with a start. Glancing around tiredly, he couldn’t really say he saw anyone, and began to wonder what that noise was. Maybe it was just the work-credit librarian he chatted with earlier. Taking a peek at his wristwatch, Dipper saw that it was 3:12 in the morning. That apparently was time, man. He gave a small, breathy sigh and cracked back open his organic chemistry book, determined to remember every single letter and semicolon before dawn. That was only three or so hours away. Dipper had to focus.

**Thud.**

Dipper’s brown eyes flicked back up from the pages, barely even haven gotten in an extra paragraph before he was so rudely interrupted once more. His brows were knit together mostly in irritation rather than confusion. That librarian girl hadn’t seemed so clumsy, so why was she making so much noise? Okay, so it was only two thumps, but still. It was the principle of the thing. Or rather, it was because Dipper was chomping at the bit for a distraction from his studies. Removing his reading glasses, Dipper’s eyes had a hard time focusing as he glanced around again. In his sleepy stupor, he could have sworn he saw a flash of gold from amongst the aisles, and every hair on the back of his neck rose. Was the library haunted? Is this how he dies? Studying his rear off for a test he never even got the chance to take? Maybe he should’ve headed back to his dorm. Maybe he should’ve struck up a conversation with the work-credit student downstairs. Maybe –

“…Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer,” the ghost suddenly sneered, and Dipper nearly bolted right then. He would have, if it weren’t for the fact his legs were curled around themselves beneath him in the armchair. He would’ve just landed flat on his face, and he would have died in the most awkward position. Couldn’t have that.

“…I’m sorry, wha…?” Dipper tried, his blurred eyes finally beginning to focus on the strange being. After a few more moments of confusion, his eyes cleared up and his vision came together, revealing that it wasn’t in fact a ghost, but instead a rather frustrated blond male. He had tussled blond locks, and tanned skin that wasn’t too common in this area. The stranger looked exotic in his black sweater and dark-wash jeans, but none of these things really stood out to Dipper as much as the blond’s vividly blue eyes. They seemed to pierce right through him, and was enough to knock him out of his daze. Dipper blinked a few more times before he went right back into his usual stammering self.

“O-oh, I’m sorry. I actually thought…you know what, nevermind. It’s crazy. I’m tired,” Dipper apologized, slipping back on his reading glasses to turn his attentions to the chemistry book once more. He was only pretending to read, as he couldn’t very well concentrate with this blond stranger just staring at him for far too long. He was standing there for three minutes and twenty-three seconds before Dipper finally looked back up at him. Was he trying to be rude?

“…Can I help you?” Dipper asked, his brow raising. The blond simply scoffed in return and slung his book under his arm, though the title cover of it was concealed by his side. He raised his own brow to mirror Dipper’s, though he kept a bemused expression on his face.

“Now you know how awkward it is when someone just stares at you,” the stranger smirked, then turned as though he were to leave. He seemed to change his mind though, as he turned back to face Dipper. “…Organic chemistry, huh? That was a fun course. Miss Juniper was pretty lax if you ask for an extension to study. She used to give me them all the time. Said ‘if you need an extra day or two to study, take it. I don’t want you failing the test on things you already know because you’re tired.’ She was a good teacher.”

Dipper sat there dumbfounded, though he instantly was relieved he could ask for an extension. Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing he ended up staring at the blond. At least he hadn’t turned out to be a ghost out for human flesh in the middle of the night.

“…Thank you,” the brunet eventually said, closing the book almost in triumph. “I’m asking for an extension as soon as her office hour opens. I guess that’s…what? Five hours? Oh, looks like it’ll be three hours. When did it turn 4:30?”

“Probably four minutes ago,” the blond noted sarcastically, since it was 4:34. “Why don’t you head back and get some sleep if you’re done studying for the night? You look like shit.”

Dipper’s lips immediately turned into a pronounced frown, eliciting a soft snort from the taller male.

“Can’t. Roommate’s girlfriend suddenly crashed in our room. Her car is out of gas or something? I don’t know, she usually does this,” Dipper sighed, setting the book on the side table beside him before he returned his attentions to the blond. “It’s like, I either get no rest outside the dorm, or get no rest inside the dorm. At least here it’s quiet.”

“Ah, that sucks,” the stranger nodded, his free hand going into the front pocket of his dark-wash jeans. “I’d offer my floor, but the RA’s throwing a house party tonight. Don’t think you’d get much sleep there either.”

Just as Dipper was about to thank the blond, the library elevator gave a soft ding before the metallic doors slid open, and out came a scantily clad redhead. She wore hardly anything, but what she did wear was extremely suggestive. It made Dipper’s face burn just to look at her. The redhead lapped up the attentions given to her from the blond, and then turned to the brunet still curled up in the armchair. Her strappy black pumps echoed their clicks in the empty library as she stepped, her shimmery black miniskirt threatening to ride up and reveal more of her thigh-high pantyhose. She stopped beside the blond, lacing an arm through the one whose hand was situated in his pocket, and draped herself like arm candy on him, all the while grinning a toothy smile past dark red lips down at Dipper. Her dark purple halter nearly exposed the entirety of her cleavage, and Dipper’s face was probably the same shade as the woman’s hair; a bright cherry red.

“Hi! I’m Victoria,” the woman greeted Dipper, then turned immediately to the blond to start petting his cheek. Dipper never felt more awkward.

“…Hey, Victoria,” Dipper greeted, his legs slowly unraveling so he could pull his knees to his chest. “…I’m Dipper. What, uh…what’re you doing in the library so late? Or so early. I guess it is pretty early, isn’t it?”

Taking a peek at his wristwatch, Dipper cleared his throat quietly, obviously feeling awkward at this entire thing. All Victoria did was give a soft laugh though, that actually was not condescending. Dipper looked back up at the redhead with a small smile, glad at least that she seemed nice.

“It’s late for me, we have a party that  _someone_  skipped out on,” the redhead pouted, returning her eyes to the blond. Dipper did the same, and was feeling even more awkward when he saw the stranger hadn’t stopped staring at him since Victoria draped herself on him. “Billy…come on, baby. You said you’d dance with me. I am definitely demanding that dance.”

Dipper couldn’t help but mentally note that the blond didn’t really look like a Billy, but didn’t remark on anything like that. Bill itself seemed better suited for the air about the blond. Dipper just gave a small smile to the pair and began looking back at his chemistry book. Maybe he should just pop that open so they could have their privacy. The apparent Billy finally gave a sigh and turned his attentions to the sexy redhead, raising a brow at her. She did the same back to him, though she couldn’t fight off the smirk on her face. The blond held up his book that he planned on checking out, almost as though that were his excuse.

“…Latin dancing for beginners?” Victoria snorted softly, taking the book out of Bill’s hands to skim through it. “I thought you were already a dancer. Or are you learning new moves just for me?”

“…I’m not a dancer,” Bill explained, wrapping an arm around the girl’s middle as she looked through the book. Dipper decided to reach for his chemistry book after all, since they weren’t going to be getting a room anytime soon, and he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. It was rude to stare, after all. And it wasn’t like it was his business anyway.

“…Dipper,” Bill suddenly said, making the brunet look up from his textbook. He removed his glasses again to give his full attention to the blond male. “We’ll leave you alone. You should set your alarm and try not to get a crick in your neck. Once Miss Juniper grants the extension, go kick your roommate’s girlfriend out of his bed. If she doesn’t go, here.”

Bill reached forward and took Dipper’s hand, plucking the pen off of the brunet’s notebook on the side table before he began writing on the top of his hand. It was a building name and dorm room number.

“…She doesn’t leave, come camp out on my floor. RA’s party should be done by 6, 6:30, but you should definitely get that extension first.” Bill set back down the pen in its place atop Dipper’s journal, and took Victoria’s hand instead before he simply turned and walked away, heading back for the elevator. Dipper was baffled. Bill seemed nice enough though, and that was a nice gesture to offer his dorm for a stranger. At least there was apparently no plans for hanky-panky over there, which Dipper was admittedly thankful for. Maybe he could actually get some rest. He did in fact set his wristwatch just as the elevator doors were opening, and flicked his eyes over to see the pair getting in. Victoria wasn’t paying any attention to Dipper as her focus was solely on Bill, and just how much surface area she could caress in the short elevator ride. Dipper was surprised to see the blond’s blue eyes affixed to him, and gave a short wave and a small smile as the doors closed.

Well, that was awkward.

But at least it was over. With his alarm set for ten minutes before Miss Juniper’s office hour, Dipper laid his head back and caught up on some much needed sleep. He slept easily enough in the awkward position he was in, and sadly woke up with a start and a crick in his neck once his alarm was going off. Dipper stood to stretch and immediately fell onto the floor. It seemed his legs and rear had fallen asleep during that time, and now felt like there were a million bugs with little needles crawling and sticking him from the waist down. Dipper laid there cursing life, cursing chairs and cursing butts before it finally subsided after a few minutes. Once that episode was over, he carefully stood and winced as he felt the remnants of needles in the soles of his feet, then picked up his books and pens before heading over to the elevator. It was a short ride down to the first floor from the third, and it took no time at all for him to checkout with the required books. There wasn’t anyone there anymore, but at least the work-credit girl left a note about locking up behind himself. She seemed nice.

On his way out, Dipper perused through the returned books, wondering if there was anything there he needed as well. There really wasn’t, but he didn’t get the chance to see whether or not there was, since sitting on the top row was a certain book that caught his eye.

‘ _Latin Dancing for Beginners_.’

~


	2. Lolita

~

Dipper at least had no problems finding Miss Juniper and getting that extension just as he had been advised, and was immensely thankful for it. Walking out of the science building almost a new man, the exhausted brunet debated just going over to the dorm address still written on his hand and thanking Bill face-to-face. He probably still looked like shit though, as the blond had so eloquently stated a few hours earlier. Dipper ultimately decided to do the next best thing, and walked silently down the various cobblestone-laden paths around campus to the local bakery in the school town, ordering one of each of the pastries. He wasn't sure what Bill would like, but free breakfast always seemed to be the way to go with thanking people. Requesting an extra sheet of receipt paper from the register worker, the brunet took a moment to write down a simple little thank you note and stuck it between two bagels before heading back out to the dorm where Bill supposedly resided.

It wasn't a long walk, thankfully, and Dipper discovered that it was only three minutes away from his own dorm building. He climbed up the stairs as silently as possible, since it would just be awkward to say he got breakfast as thanks for a little piece of information. Did people do that? Dipper did that, but that didn't necessarily mean it was normal. It wasn't up for debate anymore as he came across room 312, in the male's wing of the co-ed dorm house. The walls were colored in a thick layer of a rust-lined red, and the stained birch hardwood floors weren’t as creaky as the flooring that lined his own dormitory. Dipper stood just outside of the door for a moment, debating silently to himself if he should just go ahead and knock and then set the bag down and run, or if he should just leave it attached to the ornate doorknob for Bill to discover later on. Maybe Bill was in a class. Maybe the running idea was the better option after all.

Dipper stepped closer to the light-colored wooden door, and just as he was about to knock, he heard a sound from inside. He paused, wondering if he would be able to get far after alerting whoever was inside, but then the sound happened again. Was someone...crying? Dipper was legitimately worried and was about to knock just to make sure the occupants were alright, until he suddenly heard a loud "Oh God, yes!"

Oh.

**_Oh._**

Dipper set the bag of breakfast down securely on the knob, then simply turned and walked away, his face a vivid red once more. No need to intrude on such an intimate moment, after all. It all seemed a blur as he raced out of the dormitory as quickly as he physically could manage, and walked briskly outside to the chill of the morning air. He greatly needed that crisp wind against his warmed face. When he finally returned back to his own dorm room, he unlocked the door and stepped inside, glad at least that his roommate and his girlfriend had tired themselves out from the previous night's events and were currently cuddling with each other under their blankets. Dipper just didn't care at this point, as he felt like death. Toeing off his shoes and socks, the brunet then stepped to his bed and shrugged off his jacket after he set down his books and journals. In no time at all, he was in bed with the blankets over his head to drown out the synchronized snoring of his roommate and his bed buddy. It was probably five hours later that he woke up to the sound of rather loud talking outside his door. Dipper really was crabby when he woke up, because he was such a light sleeper. He had half a mind to just throw his pillow at the door in an attempt to get the conversation to cease since he’d been so rudely woken up, but instead just sat up and pulled the blankets off his mussed up chocolate locks before he took a look at the time. 1:53 pm. Maybe he should get up before he was late for class.

Yawning, Dipper realized he hadn’t even showered yet and probably looked like death in a completely different way. The brunet quickly gathered up his shower items and a new, clean outfit before he mentally calculated how much time he had to waste in the shower before his 3 o’clock English Lit course. It wasn’t a long walk, so he could probably spare thirty minutes instead of the usual ten. Dipper opened the door to his dorm to find the two people talking, but he was thankfully not going to chew them out for talking so loud since his initial saltiness had ebbed away. He shouldn’t have been sleeping into the afternoon anyway. It was probably a good thing he decided not to raise hell, since it turned out to be his roommate and Bill that had woken him up. Dipper did a double take as he was about to simply walk past them to the showers, then stopped in his tracks to properly greet the blond. Surprisingly enough, Bill didn’t seem all that happy to see him.

“Oh, hey,” Dipper greeted softly, wondering why Bill looked so angry. “…Uh, I got the extension. Juniper said the same thing you did. About the whole…sleeping…thing. Are you okay?”

Dipper wasn’t sure why this man was so upset, and seemingly directed at him. And why was he talking with his roommate? Did they know each other? Was he interrupting something? Maybe he should just leave and go take that shower before he was late for class. Bill shifted his weight between his feet, his arms crossed over his chest as he just coldly glared at Dipper. The brunet was beyond confused.

“Yeah…I’m gonna go,” Dipper’s roommate, Aaron, suddenly interjected, then promptly turned on his heels to go into their dorm and shut the mahogany door. No doubt he was just listening from behind it, but there wasn’t really much they could do about that. Dipper turned back to look at Bill, completely ignorant. At least they were alone in the faded green halls, though that didn’t necessarily mean they were completely alone, what with the other residing students possibly listening to their conversations.

  
“…What’s wrong?” he asked in a quiet tone. At least he tried to be civil and respectful by keeping it down. Bill scoffed, and obviously didn’t care about anyone else eavesdropping on their apparent confrontation.

“…Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,” Bill muttered, his hands leaving their crossed positions to fold neatly into his jeans pockets. “…You got that extension? Good. If you need any tutoring, I know a guy. You know where I’m at. Just ask.”

And just like that, the blond turned and left without as much as a goodbye. Dipper stood there gawking at the place where Bill had been, wondering if he had done something horribly wrong by giving him bakery items for breakfast. Did Bill not even like breakfast? Was he allergic to something inside there? Was it against his culture? Dipper didn’t really think the note was anything to truly upset or insult him, but then again, maybe that was just who Bill was. Maybe he was just a jerk. Dipper didn’t care either way, since the blond was nothing more than an acquaintance. Moving on from that strange encounter, Dipper made his way to the bathroom and quickly showered, deciding to not indulge in the extra twenty minutes of just standing under the hot water. He dried off quickly, and wrapped his towel around his middle as he blow-dried his hair. He himself had looked so unkempt when he’d talked with Bill. How did Bill look and act so put together? Dipper wasn’t sure, but it was something he was almost envious of. He’d only known him for not even a day and he was amazed at how Bill always just seemed to look on point. Well, all of two times. Dipper himself looked like a mess, and not even a hot one at that.

Soon he was dried and clothed, and dropped off his showering supplies back at his dorm room before he left to head right to his literature class. It was probably one of his more favorite classes, as he always seemed to get straight A’s. There was just something about reading the carefully chosen words of the old masters. Maybe he should declare that as his major. Did literature majors make any money? It was worth looking into. The class was a long one, but Dipper enjoyed every moment of it, and probably was the only one to actually take notes. He was already sixteen chapters ahead of everyone else in the class, but he was content to try to answer the questions he already understood perfectly. He was such a nerd.

 ~

When class finally ended, Dipper left the building to walk out to the small park the campus held, where a large majority of the student body convened to play sports, study, or just generally socialize. The brunet always enjoyed a certain spot just under a certain tree in a certain part of the park that overlooked the entire clearing, and was the best spot in the springtime to see all of the budding leaves and flowers blossom as summertime approached. Dipper learned of that spot after the first few months of his freshman year, and now it was his favorite go-to spot as he was now in his sophomore year. There was still a bit of a nip in the air from the winter gracefully leaving, but Dipper didn’t mind. It just alerted him more as he was reviewing his notes and rewriting them in a more legible penmanship in case any of his fellow classmates needed them. He was technically the best in the class, after all. Dipper wouldn’t mind helping out. Maybe he could become a volunteer tutor. He was such a nerd.

“…Hey, it’s Dipper, right?” came a soft voice, causing the brunet to stop writing look up from his notes. He was met with the sight of a better dressed Victoria, with her lips a more natural pink color that were curled to reveal her teeth behind the grin. She was wearing black jeans with a simple grey blouse that slightly puffed up just before the cuff of her wrists. Dipper had to say he liked the modesty a lot better for her. It suited her better. Sitting up and setting down his journal, Dipper smiled up at her and nodded.

“Yeah, Dipper. How’re you, Victoria?” Dipper greeted, leaning back against the tree. The redhead sat down beside him without hesitation, which was admittedly a surprise. It seemed she was interested in becoming friends, or at least better acquainted with each other. Dipper couldn’t say he minded, as he didn’t have too many friends there. That’s the price he had to pay for being so socially awkward.

“I’m good! I’m glad I get to see you without the dark circles under your eyes,” she teased with a soft laugh, going as far as to gently punch Dipper’s bicep. He would never admit that punch hurt. “So what’re you up to? You studying some more? Gosh, you really are a nerd. I thought he was just saying that.”

“Yeah, I’m really - wait, who said I’m a nerd?” Dipper asked, then chuckled as he rubbed his bicep. Totally didn’t hurt. “Was it Aaron? He can definitely confirm that I’m the biggest nerd ever. It’s really bad. Like, embarrassingly bad. I’m just digging a hole here for myself, aren’t I?”

“Hah, no, I’m not sure who Aaron is,” Victoria shook her head, her warm smile ever present. “No, I mean Billy. He was telling me about you last night. Said you’re a super dork or something like that. Have you known each other long? I don’t remember him talking about you before, but he sounded like you two were old friends from the way he was talking.”

That was news to Dipper, who still wasn’t even sure of what Bill’s last name even was. He looked about as surprised as he felt, which caused Victoria’s smile to become the tiniest bit laced with worry. A short shrug and a head shake later from the brunet, and Dipper was finally mentally caught up with the situation to continue the conversation. He subconsciously pulled his navy blue windbreaker tighter around his frame, mostly out of self-consciousness rather than any sort of chill from the wind.

“…No, I’ve…I’ve never met Bill before,” Dipper said honestly, to which Victoria nodded. “We just met last night. Not even like, three minutes before you came to get him. I don’t know if I should be worried or flattered that he talked about me like that. Heh. Um, he seems nice. You two been together long? Or is that too personal?”

“No no, not too personal,” Victoria immediately reassured, bringing her knees up to her chest to mimic Dipper. “We’ve been together for three months. Four, next week. Billy’s super nice. I’m surprised you two aren’t friends. You totally should be. If not you and him, you and me should. I’ll introduce you to some of my very single, very cute girlfriends if you want. Then we can double date! How fun would that be? I’m going to take a guess and say very. No pressure though. Except all of it. All of the pressure. Because that would be adorable.”

Dipper couldn’t help but laugh, since Victoria reminded him so much of his twin sister, Mabel. He had a feeling the two of them would be like two peas in a pod if they were to meet. At the rate Victoria was moving for their sudden friendship, it seemed like they would be meeting up very soon.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Dipper smiled. At least it would get him out and about, and not confined to his room forever. It probably wasn’t healthy with how long he was staying indoors, anyway. He needed a life outside of classrooms and between the pages of a textbook. “I can’t really say I’ll be great company, since I’m apparently a huge nerd, heh. But I’d like to at least make some new friends, if nothing else. Sounds like fun! When uh, when did you have in mind?”

“Tonight, silly!” Victoria giggled, which immediately turned to laughter as she saw the expression Dipper’s face took on. “Hahah, I probably should’ve given you a little more warning, huh? See, I thought that you’d like to maybe hang out soon, so I just went ahead and asked a few of my friends to tag along with us tonight. We’re just going to one of the campus restaurants, so it’s no biggie. That okay for you? If not, we can totally reschedule. Billy and I were going to go out anyway, so we might as well make a big date out of it! And hey, no pressure to be interested in any of the girls. If you’re not that into them, no problems. We’ll find that special someone for you!”

Dipper listened as Victoria spoke, but found there was something incredibly off about all of this. Were normal people really this friendly? It all sounded nice, but there was an odd feeling about it all that Dipper just couldn’t shake off. He didn’t want to come across as rude, especially not when Victoria was so hellbent on being the best of friends. Wasn’t that just a little creepy? How could he really ask about that without being seen as a jerk? Dipper had no idea. He just had no social skills.

“…Um, yeah, that’s…that’s fine,” Dipper chuckled just the slightest bit nervously. “Uh, I was just sort of wondering though, what exactly is the rush? I mean, I don’t want to sound rude or ungrateful or anything like that. Hanging out for once sounds like a nice change of pace. I was just sort of wondering why…tonight. Especially since you didn’t know how I’d react.”

Victoria couldn’t help but laugh softly, though it was a kindhearted laugh, and not sarcastic or condescending in any way. She shook her head slightly, her eyes shutting but for a moment.

“Sorry, I’m not laughing at you,” she clarified, just in case Dipper thought otherwise. “See, I just wanted to make more friends, and I thought it would be less awkward if it was more than just me and Billy. I know how weird it can be if it’s just you and a couple who already know each other and act all lovey-dovey in front of you, so I wanted to avoid that if I could. I hope I wasn’t being too forward, I just didn’t want you to feel on the spot or out of place. I saw how you felt this morning when I was talking with Billy.”

This of course wasn’t actually the reason Victoria wanted to hook up Dipper with someone, namely a girl. But the cherry-toned redhead wasn’t about to divulge that specific information. She’d been having her suspicions since she’d gotten together with Bill, but tried to convince herself that her doubts were invalid each time they laid. Which actually was quite a lot. Bill had gained the reputation in his dorm building as Stamina, since he never seemed to stop having sex. All with women. Bill was a bit of a manwhore.

“Oh,” was all Dipper really offered as a response for a long while. He scratched the back of his head out of habit, then gave a warm smile once he mentally caught up again. “I appreciate that. Thank you. Tonight’s perfect, then. Where should I meet you guys? At the restaurant, or did you all want to meet up first and then head over?”

“Hmm,” Victoria mused, tapping her chin in thought. “How about we meet up at the restaurant? Then we can stop by Billy’s room and continue our get-together there. Sound good? We can get some board games, if you’d like. Something tells me you’re really into D&D.”

“Heh, more like D-and-D-and-More-D,” Dipper chuckled, then realized that sounded a certain way he did not actually intend. “Uh…Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons. Just to clarify.”

“Hah, alright! If you say so,” Victoria laughed, punching Dipper’s arm lightly again. Definitely didn’t hurt. “So how about we meet up at the restaurant at say, oh, I dunno. Eight? Is that too late? Maybe we should make it six, then that way we have time to have some dinner, chat, and then get a head start on the board games.”

Dipper nodded his agreement, actually pretty excited about the upcoming events. It was a while since he had any sort of hang out, and even then it was with his sister. There was no way he was going to be saying that aloud though. But a casual night of meeting new people, playing some games and grabbing some dinner together sounded perfect. Hopefully whatever was pissing off Bill earlier had subsided. Dipper mulled over the notion of asking Victoria what had the blond so upset, but wasn’t sure if she even knew about it. Best to keep it to himself for the time being. At least until she and him became better friends, which Dipper had a feeling that she was dead set on.

“Sounds perfect. Oh! I should probably give you my number, so then we can sync our schedules better,” Dipper grinned, pulling out a piece of paper to write his name and number down. “So just text me when I should head over, if you want to get a table or whatever. I’ll bring an appetite.”

Passing over the folded paper to Victoria, the redhead whipped out her phone and created a new contact for the brunet’s information to be stored in. Once she had that in place, she sent off a quick text simply consisting of ‘:)’ before pocketing the gadget again. She accepted the offered paper and stuck it inside her purse for safe keeping. Could never be too careful, after all.

“Awesome! I’ll text you around 5:50, ‘kay?” she asked, rising up with a slight bounce in her step. It was obvious to tell she was excited about all of this, probably as much as Dipper was. “And wear something casual, okay? I feel like you’re the kind that would wear a tie just to be a little more fancy.”

“Psh,” Dipper chuckled, making a slight face in joking. “I don’t even have a tie with me. But you’re not too far off the mark. Alright, alright. Casual. I’ll save my tuxedo for the second hang out.”

“Cool beans, dude,” the redhead laughed, then gave a short wave before turning and walking back to her dorm. Dipper reciprocated the wave, his wide grin stuck on his face for the longest time. It was exciting to think he’d be meeting up with new friends. Hopefully things went as smoothly as he was hoping for. Dipper finished up rewriting his notes, then pocketed his journals and pens back into his knapsack. Standing up, he slung the backpack over his one shoulder and headed back to his own dorm room to get ready for the evening’s events. Things really seemed to be on the up-and-up. Too bad an entire year had gone by before he really made any friends. At least the one night he was sort of kicked out of his dorm room had paved the way to actually having a social life. Who knew?

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Victoria has her suspicions, and I can't imagine why. Bill is the ultimate manwhore. He will screw anything and everything. Only women, though.
> 
> For now.


	3. Catcher in the Rye

~

_‘u ready?’_

_‘yeah, I’ll be there in about 10.’_

_‘cool! we got a booth in the back. better hurry tho. this one girl is smoking ;)’_

_‘that seems dangerous, haha’_

_‘wat?’_

_‘nevermind.’_

_‘hurry tho, we’re having a competition to see who cn come up with the best nickname for u’_

_‘who’s winning?’_

_‘come and see!’_

 

Dipper chuckled at his phone screen, finally flipping it shut before he pulled on his black hoodie over his usual outfit of a simple orange t-shirt and white-wash jeans and headed out the door. His hi-top tennis shoes padded softly down the wooded floor, though he was surprised that was the only sound he heard. Was it really that common for students to be out on a Friday night? He’d heard rumors of it being date night, but he thought it was just that; only rumors. It made no difference to Dipper, but it was sort of eerie to be making the only bit of noise in such a large building. It took him half a minute to quickly step down the various flights of stairs to finally make it outside to be met with a much warmer night than it had been during the daytime. The chill in the air had long since ebbed away, and Dipper was thankfully graced with a warm evening to pair with the warm company soon to be met with. He made sure for about the twentieth time that he had his wallet with his ID, and enough money for himself, tip, and about two or three other people. Just in case. No one would ever be able to say Dipper Pines was unprepared.

It was a short walk from his building to the campus restaurant they were meeting at, but it felt like years to the brunet male as he strode with a confidence that was completely forged. He could feel his rapid heartbeat falter his steps, as each harsh pump of his heart was sending out massive quantities of blood that circulated around his feet, making him feel like he was losing his footing with every step. Dipper eventually made it to the tavern-style restaurant, which was complete with the cobblestone pathway leading up to the large, rounded-top double doors. The ebony-coated fittings of the door gave it an old-timey feel, as did the rustic sign for the restaurant that hung on creaky hinges that protruded from the porch roof. Taking a shuddering breath, the brunet grasped the knob and opened the door to reveal the bustling tavern inside. It was like he stepped back in time, to a time and place where smiles were warm and the drinks were barely chilled. Hopefully the iced tea would actually be cold though.

“Dipper!” came a familiar voice that cut through the mumbled babbling of the rest of the restaurant. The brunet turned to see a particular redhead beside a blonde, sitting amongst a group of various other girls. They were pretty, Dipper had to admit that. He almost felt nervous just looking at them. Hopefully he’d feel like he belonged, rather than an outcast. Victoria waved him over with a wide, infectious grin, and Dipper walked over to meet up with them. “Glad you could make it! Now, about that competition I was texting you about.”

Dipper didn’t get a chance to slide into the booth before two of the four girls he didn’t know slid out for him to scoot in between. He gave a nervous chuckle before he finally took the seat, with the girls immediately taking their places beside him. He was sandwiched between four pretty girls, and the brunet’s face was on fire.

“Uh…yeah, the uh, the competition,” Dipper reminded again, as he was all too aware of the lack of personal space on either side of him. Was the booth that small, or was there no personal boundaries with these girls? He could feel the brush of their hips and thighs against his own, and tried very much to not focus on that. Dipper was not at all prepared for this. “What were the uh, the nicknames? I hope they weren’t too bad.”

“Oh gosh no, some of them were really sweet,” Victoria laughed, handing Dipper a menu to peruse over as they talked. “I thought it was only fair for you to pick out which one you liked the most, but to make it fair, we’re not going to tell you who said which one. ‘Kay?”

Accepting the heavy book-style menu, Dipper nodded and fidgeted in his seat a bit to try to get more comfortable. Seemed reasonable. He wasn’t entirely sure why there were nicknames being made about him before anyone there really knew him, but he wasn’t going to ruin his chances at friendships just to ask meaningless questions like that. As long as they weren’t insulting, Dipper would take what he could.

“Okay, so the first one was ‘brownie-locks,’” Victoria giggled, rolling her eyes. “That one sucks the most, so we might as well get that one out of the way.”

“Hey! It does not suck!” a blonde beside him pouted. “I thought it was cute!”

“It totally sucks,” Victoria reiterated, as Dipper took to glancing over the menu instead of involving himself in their miniature dispute. He didn’t even know any of their names yet, so there was no way he was planning on insulting any of them. Not that he would have even if he had known their names. Dipper didn’t want to concern himself in the affairs of nicknames. He stole a glance from the massive textbook menu to look at Bill, who seemed to be in much better spirits than earlier when he’d visited Dipper’s dorm. That also posed a good question of how did Bill know where his room was? Had he even been looking for him? Unless he was friends with Aaron, then that would make sense. Dipper didn’t recall writing down his own dorm room on the thank you note. The blonde male looked almost bored though, as his head was cupped by his hand, with his elbow propped up on the table. He was just watching Victoria as she teased the blonde female beside the male brunet. “Anyway! So that’s the first one. The next one is –“

Dipper didn’t really want to admit it, but he was sort of drowning out Victoria’s words and just let the redhead talk. He wasn’t used to any of this, but it seemed Bill was. He took a cue from the blonde male and braced himself for endless girl talk. Not that he minded, but Dipper wasn’t really into that sort of thing. He was into more meaningful things, deeper talks about stupid things and theories and just other things in general, and since the girls had decided that he deserved a nickname before they even knew what his last name was, it just wasn’t all that meaningful. Then again, he didn’t want to be rude.

“- And the last one is ‘cute chemist,’” the redhead grinned, though she seemed less enthusiastic about that one. Dipper had to admit at least to himself that he hadn’t been paying attention to any of the nicknames, save for the first and the last. ‘Cute chemist’ sounded a lot better than ‘brownie-locks,’ though he didn’t want to sound harsh or judgmental. Dipper figured Victoria came up with the last one. It at least was prevalent to how they’d met, with him studying up on his organic chemistry class.

“Hmm,” Dipper mused as though in thought. He set the menu up against the table so he wasn’t holding the thick book for long, though it seemed to take a decade in and of itself to actually know what all the restaurant offered for food. He hadn’t even made it anywhere close to the drink menu yet. “I like them all, but I think the last one is my favorite. I do like being called cute, heh.”

“…That one was mine,” Bill snorted none-too-gently, much to Dipper’s surprise. The brunet looked back at the blond, and met his blue eyes head-on. He gave a soft chuckle, glad at least that Bill didn’t seem to be angry with him anymore.

“Awe, you think I’m cute,” Dipper grinned, feeling more at ease with teasing since it was obvious it was just a joke by Bill. “I’m flattered!”

Bill easily caught on with the teasing, a small smirk of his own finding its way onto his previously bored lips. The blonde rolled his eyes despite his smile, though it was all in fun.

“Oh gosh yes,” he chuckled. “I just think you’re downright adorable.”

“Man, stop getting so gay in here,” a black-haired woman beside Dipper laughed, and Dipper himself could have sworn he saw Bill flinch. He gave a soft laugh though to try to continue the good momentum they had going for them, though Bill seemed somewhere else again.

“…Maybe I should learn all of your names,” Dipper suggested, which earned him a short laugh from Bill. It seemed Bill thought this was all fairly ridiculous and awkward as well. “I just thought it might be nice to know all who I’m talking with, heh.”

“Oh! Jeez, sorry,” Victoria laughed, then pointed to each girl as she said her name. “This is Daphne, Taylor, Katie, and Cindy. I’m Victoria, and you should already know Billy. Ladies and gentleman, this is Dipper. Wait, what’s your last name?”

Dipper nodded to each girl as her name was spoken, and gave a grin and short wave as Victoria and Bill were introduced again. He had a feeling he wouldn’t really be seeing most of these girls again after tonight though.

“Heh, my last name is Pines,” Dipper informed, though it was evident that two of the five women weren’t as interested in that information as he’d been expecting. “…Have you all ordered yet? I don’t think I’ve even made it past the appetizer chapter.”

“Nah, just our drinks. We also might have a bet going on for what kind of drink you’ll order,” Victoria grinned, already nodding with the betters. “So what’ll it be, Chemist? What sort of elixir won your fancy?”

Dipper could just tell he and Victoria were going to hit it off well. She was appealing to every nerd bone in his body.

“Hmm…” Dipper pursed his lips in thought, looking over the drink menu at last. “…Normally I’d say Pitt Cola, but it seems they don’t have that. I’ll settle for an iced tea.”

The hand belonging to a black-haired Katie shot up as a fist pump, to which Victoria shook her head and tutted softly.

“…Sweet or unsweet?” the redhead grinned, making Katie groan. “We like the nitty-gritty. We even bet on sugar.”

“…That’s actually a good question,” Dipper mused. He almost wanted a cut of this bet. “…I’m going to have to go with unsweet. Usually sweet is too sweet. I don’t really have a sweet tooth.”

“Dammit,” Katie laughed, pulling out her wallet along with Cindy and Daphne to fork over a few coins to the winner Taylor. The brown-haired, brown-eyed girl chuckled darkly, accepting her wins. Dipper had the thought cross his mind that she almost seemed to be a mafia boss in that moment, poised over her feats. He wondered if she gambled often. She should, since she apparently got it right out of nowhere and with literally no prior information.

“…Remind me that I want you as a gaming buddy,” Dipper grinned to Taylor. “Do you all come here often? Man…that sounded like a bad line. Sorry. What I mean by that is do you know the menu already? It’s massive, man.”

Without a word, Bill simply reached across the table to page through Dipper’s menu to show him where the ‘good food’ was, then laid a finger just above one of the dishes.

“Stay on this page, the rest is eh, but this one is my favorite,” Bill recommended, then retracted his hand to go back to propping his head up with it. “Their burgers here are amazing. It’s the only place I’ll get them.”

“Mm, it does sound good,” Dipper agreed, reading over the short description beneath a scrollwork of the dish name. “I think I’ll go with that. Might as well try what works, right? Thanks.”

Closing up the menu, Dipper then tented his hands overtop of it and wondered what all they should talk about next. It seemed that everyone was going off into their own groups for conversations, which was fine, but Dipper was the odd guy out. There were seven people there, and each had a partner for their pair. Meanwhile the brunet male was sitting awkwardly between all of the conversations simply looking around at the decorations.

“…You play any sports?” Bill suddenly asked Dipper, once Victoria was done saying whatever it was she had been saying to the blonde male. “I mean, you don’t look like you do, but I wasn’t sure if you were interested in anything like that.”

Dipper had to admit that he was pretty eager for his own conversation, and since he didn’t want to intrude on the other’s little groups, he was thankful that Bill sort of cut through the copious amounts of giggles and winks given to the brunet instead of actual talking. Dipper liked girls, he liked women. He just didn’t know how to act around them or talk with them. He was always awkward, and found it easier to get along with guys. Probably just because he was a guy, and could better understand how to act.

“…No, I-I’m not really into any sports,” Dipper gave a half-smile. “I thought about trying it, but public school gym class really makes you learn where your faults lie. Apparently mine is in physical fitness, heh. I guess I’m more of a nerd, where I like reading and games. I actually was just thinking today of declaring my major as English Lit, but, I dunno. How about you? You into sports or any nerd things?”

“…Yeah I definitely pegged you right,” Bill laughed quietly. “I play some sports but I don’t like being on teams or anything like that where I’m told what to do. More like, I like to just grab a few guys and have small matches in the campus field. You know, that place you sit out at, under that tree? Yeah, it’s pretty fun. We usually tussle a football around sometimes or whatever. I like reading. Who’s your favorite author? Or are you going to nerd out if I ask that?”

Despite Bill’s smirk and friendly conversation, Dipper caught onto something rather interesting. How did Bill know where he sat at? Stealing a glance at Victoria, he wondered if maybe she just told him, or met up with Bill right after leaving the brunet. Dipper cleared his throat softly and continued the conversing.

“I’ll probably nerd out,” Dipper grinned, and Bill lowered his hand to lean closer to better hear the other. “…I mean, I’m probably going to say my all-time favorite is Agatha Christie. I mean, wow. She can write. I think she was probably the first author to actually listen to me as I screamed at the book, heh. My first story I read of hers was ‘And Then There Were None,’ and I just instantly fell in love. Aside from her, I’m not too keen on Bradbury, but I love Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his depiction of Sherlock Holmes. I love Hounds of the Baskervilles. Who’s your favorite author?”

“Dickens,” Bill said without hesitation, suddenly not bored anymore. “I adore Oliver Twist. How about music? You into that? You sound like a creative person.”

Dipper didn’t get the chance to answer the blonde’s question, as the waitress came over to greet the table. The older woman was wearing a bustle underneath where her pleated-ruffle apron tied in the back. Dipper had to give her props for the amount of heat that woman was enduring.

“Hey y’all,” the woman greeted with a wide smile, pulling out her notepaper and quill pen. “How you folks doing? I see your last member showed up, so what can I get you, sugar?”

“Oh uh, an unsweet tea for me, please,” Dipper spoke up, then made sure everyone at the table knew what they wanted for dinner before he ordered for himself. “Also, I’ll have the hamburger, no onions, please.”

“So polite!” the woman grinned, jotting down the order. Dipper was like a breath of fresh air with his please’s. “And how about you, young man?”

“Same,” Bill simply said, reaching over to collect Dipper’s menu. “I’d also like to order a round of drinks in addition, but if you could put it on my bill.”

“Sure thing, sweetie,” the woman nodded, taking the other girl’s orders first. Once those were recorded accurately, she collected the menus and set them off to the side so she could make a new paper with the drink list. “What would you like? I’ll also need to see some IDs, if you don’t mind.”

The girls turned and each reached into their purses for their ID cards, and Dipper was wondering if they were going to need a designated driver. Did they all walk here? Were the girls going to be okay in those heels? He supposed Bill knew what he was doing, and reached for his wallet to pluck out his own card. They passed them all over to the waitress to verify, and once they were cleared, replaced them back into their correct spots.

“Perfect! Thank you all for working with me,” the woman smiled warmly, then recorded each of the drinks Bill ordered. “I’ll put this in right away, and I’ll bring out the special drinks for when the food comes, if that’s alright. Most of these ones taste better with the food anyway. You’ll learn that, young connoisseurs.”

Once the woman was gone again, Bill turned right back to Dipper, not letting any time go to waste before he was back in full swing in their conversation. The brunet felt like the girls there probably wanted to talk, but Bill had been kind enough to make him feel included, so Dipper paid attention mostly to the blonde man before him.

“So, music?” Bill immediately reminded. Dipper offered a half-smile, and thought for a moment.

“…I’m not into making music, myself, but I do like listening to the classic giants,” Dipper explained. “Brahms, Bach, Mozart. I think my favorite is Brahms though. How about you?”

“Tchaikovsky,” Bill immediately answered, obviously very attentive to learning the likes and dislikes of the brunet. “Do you like the ballet? Have you ever been to one before?”

Dipper felt like he was taking forever to answer Bill’s questions, since he would pause to think of his answer, while Bill himself seemed to just lob them off with no problems or thought. The brunet thought back to one time when he went to see the Nutcracker with his family, but it wasn’t really anything special.

“I saw the Nutcracker once, but it was community theater,” Dipper explained, as though that would explain everything. Apparently it did, as Bill chuckled and groaned. “Yeah…it was pretty bad, heh. I loved the music, of course, and the dancers did…an alright job. There was one woman who really gave it her all. She was amazing. But it was the audience. They’d –“

“Clap at all the wrong times, right?” Bill chuckled, to which Dipper pointed and nodded his head.

“Yes! It was so annoying! They didn’t know when to clap, so they’d just start and never stop! At times I couldn’t even hear the music!” Dipper laughed, glad he didn’t necessarily sound like an ass if Bill agreed. “It was supposed to be this huge thing, I paid $20 for that ticket!”

“$20?! For community theater?” Bill laughed, shaking his head. “That’s insane. It probably all went into Doctor Scholl’s.”

Dipper couldn’t help but laugh along with Bill, having to agree. He at least was hitting it off with Bill and Victoria as friends, which he was really grateful for. It seemed like they were talking for only a few minutes, but Dipper had to sit back to let there be room for his dinner once it arrived a second later. He hadn’t even realized he’d sat forward to pay more attention to Bill. Dipper hoped he wasn’t being rude in that sense. He just didn’t know how to talk to the others, and Bill was making an actual effort to get to know him, unlike these girls he was supposedly dating. Once the food was down in front of him, the brunet looked back up to the waitress and helped her pass around the other dishes, as he would do at home.

“You are just the sweetest thing,” the woman laughed, setting down the last plate. “You remind me so much of my son. If he’d ever help out around the house. Then he’d remind me of you.”

“Heh, well thank you,” Dipper smiled, feeling Bill’s stare bore a hole into the side of his face. The woman simply smiled in return and left to get the drinks, and Dipper had to take a sip of his iced tea since he wasn’t sure why he was being stared at now. Bill was incredibly difficult to read, but even more so when Dipper couldn’t steal a glance at him with him blatantly looking at him. It was awkward, and Dipper felt put on the spot. Eventually though, the brunet felt like two minutes went by, and finally looked up to indeed find the blonde looking at him. Keeping his gaze for as long as Bill really wanted to look, Bill’s thin slash of an indifferent frown at last cracked into a smirk, and held the look for a moment longer than necessary before he finally looked away. Dipper’s own lips curled slightly, as he was glad that it seemed he won the battle.

“Okay, my lovelies,” the woman said once she returned with the alcoholic drinks, setting down the respective drinks in front of the respective person. “Just remember to go slow, okay? I know you’re all adults here, over 21 and all that, but still. You don’t need to be waking up with no headache tomorrow, even if you have no classes. Just stay safe, kiddos.”

With that, the woman left to serve and bus the other tables on her schedule, and Dipper took a look at his mixed drink. At least it wasn’t beer. The brunet detested the taste of beer. He took a cautious sip of the drink, and found he actually really liked it. It had flavors of blackberries and lemonade, and he could barely taste the small shot of vodka. It was a very classy drink, not loaded down with alcohol.

“…Did I guess correctly?” Bill grinned, taking a sip of his red wine. “I hope so. That would be two for two.”

“…Yeah, it’s good,” Dipper nodded, offering a small smile. “Thank you. Is it blackberries and lemonade? I love blackberries.”

Bill nodded, setting his wine to the side after another sip, and began working on his french fries. The girls followed suit, beginning to work on their own plates and giggling to each other over how adorable Dipper’s hair was. The brunet glanced down at his food as he heard the hushed compliments, wondering how the heck hair could be adorable.

“I think so. It’s blackberries or raspberries. You just seemed like a mixer kind of guy,” Bill commented, finally opting to stop talking to begin eating. Dipper took the blonde’s lead and began eating as well, his eyes slipping shut in pleasure as he ate his hamburger. Bill was right. That was one fine burger. It probably took them all twenty minutes of silence with forks and knives clinking gently against the dinnerware to finish up their meals, and once Dipper was done, he was amazed at just how filling that was. He hoped he had room for the drinks. Taking some much needed sips of his iced tea, Dipper alternated that with his alcoholic mixer as Taylor and Cindy finished up their plates of pasta.

“I could roll out of here,” Victoria groaned, laying her head dramatically on Bill’s shoulder. She slinked an arm around his waist and simply cuddled against him, her eyes shut in contentedness. “Maybe you should carry me, my strong man. I don’t think I weigh more than a football.”

“…I think you weigh about the same as a football player,” Bill teased, earning him a light jab to the side. He simply snorted softly, and glanced back at Dipper. Laying his head down against the one on his shoulder, Bill carefully studied the brunet, who casually smiled at the pair of them and turned his attentions elsewhere to give them their privacy once more.

“…So, Katie, right?” Dipper asked, turning to the black-haired woman beside him. “What do you do for fun? Any hobbies, any favorite classes?”

The girl took another sip of her drink, having finished off her soda a while ago. She turned her attentions to Dipper, and admittedly was a lightweight. Her hand rested gently on his knee, making his face burn again. Dipper didn’t remember when he finally got that blush to calm down, but it was making him uncomfortable with how it had so quickly returned. Would it be rude to ask her not to put her hand there? Dipper wasn’t sure how to act in that sort of situation. Or any social situation, really.

“I like music,” Katie slightly slurred, her voice soft as she spoke. “I like…the…viola. Sounds nice, right? Viola. Anyways, I like making music. It’s like…so cool.”

“…Oh, that sounds nice,” Dipper nodded, reaching forward a bit to gently take her wrist and move her hand. He offered a smile to show there were no hard feelings, but that didn’t stop him from moving her hand off him. Dipper just wasn’t that kind of guy. Bill took notice of this, though he didn’t say anything about it.

“Yeh, it’s really nice,” Katie smiled, moving her hand when it was shown Dipper wasn’t interested in that kind of touching. “So you’re a nerd? Just how nerdy are we talking? Like…the cute kind, or the super weird kind?”

Dipper chuckled awkwardly, taking another sip of the mixer since he was running low on iced tea. Maybe the alcohol wasn’t a good idea for their first get-together. Still, the effects it was having on the brunet was giving him the sense of confidence that didn’t have to be made up. It was a nice, different feeling. Dipper found he actually was gulping down the drink at this point, just to not feel awkward anymore. He didn’t think there was much alcohol in it, since he could hardly taste it. Apparently, he was very wrong in his deductions, as it hit his system hard within two minutes of ingesting it. Dipper’s mind was still working with no problems of logic or knowing what was happening, but his movements were much more slowed down and he didn’t feel the pressing need to please everyone there. Dipper at least was able to relax.

“…I think the cute kind,” Dipper admitted, though he had a feeling he was the super weird kind. “…I just get passionate about things other people don’t. I guess that’s what makes me a nerd. Also with the fact that I just know random things. Random facts are like, my life, man. Did you know that ambergris was used to make perfumes? Like, whoa. Putting that stuff on you? Not for me.”

“…Wait, what’s amber-wheat?” Katie asked confusedly.

“Ambergris,” Dipper reiterated, his eyes hooding as he was apparently getting ready for sleep. “It’s whale vomit.”

“Oh my God,” Katie breathily laughed, holding up her hands. “Look Mister Smarty, I think I need some help getting to the bathroom. I don’t trust these girls with their heels, and I need’a powder my nose.”

Dipper took a moment to realize what was being asked of him, and then he immediately nodded, turning and gently nudging the girls beside him to help let he and Katie out. The girls were probably going to need a lot of help getting back to their dorm rooms in those heels. How did they move in them? Dipper himself knew how to walk in heels, but that was only because of the days of his youth that he was forced to play dress up with Mabel. The brunet could actually rock a pair a pumps, but it wasn’t like he was going to be telling that to anyone. It was a talent that would have to go unknown.

“S-sure,” Dipper slurred, beginning to wonder just how much alcohol was in his drink. Bill watched the two of them closely, though he didn’t move from his place as Victoria’s sleeping perch. The brunet male smiled back at the blonde and nodded, his silent communication of saying he would be back soon. Katie latched onto Dipper’s arm for support, and Dipper was kind enough to give her that. They walked slowly to the bathroom, with the black-haired girl in tow. Meandering through the restaurant, it wasn’t difficult to find the restrooms down the short corridor, and Dipper led Katie up to the entrance of the women’s bathroom.

“I think we made it,” Dipper smiled warmly, letting go of the woman so she could do her deed. “I’ll wait out here for you, just take your time. No rush.”

Leaning against the wall perpendicular to the women’s restroom, Dipper was prepared to stay there until Katie would need his help again. He was just a gentleman in that regard. Couldn’t leave a lady stranded, right? At least, that’s what Dipper thought was happening until suddenly hands were against his torso and lips were against his own. Surprisingly enough, it seemed Katie’s nose didn’t need to be all that powdered anymore. Beyond confused, Dipper tried to get her hands off of him, though his movements were slowed by the alcohol. That didn’t mean that the brunet didn’t know what was going on. When at last he was able to get her lips away from his, Dipper drew in a breath and began accusations.

“Wh-what are you doing?” he asked confused, as though he already had no idea. The dragon of self-doubt was a fearsome one. “Katie…don’t get me wrong, you’re nice. I just…I don’t know you. I’d like to get to know you better. Start as friends, you know.”

“…Why?” she breathed, her hands going right back to Dipper’s waist despite his hands trying to stop her. “Why not friends with bene…benefits?”

Her hands were much more in control than Dipper’s, as the brunet wasn’t used to alcohol all that much. It seemed Katie’s system wasn’t as shocked by the toxin as much as he was. Fingers popping the button of Dipper’s jeans, the brunet really began getting worried.

“N-no, Katie,” Dipper said firmly, his hands holding onto her wrists to pull them away. He held them up away from his popped jeans, feeling the heat on his face spreading to his ears. This was way too much. He needed to rebutton his jeans and get back to the group. Maybe he should just head home after they reconvene. Katie didn’t take no for an answer though, and since her hands were currently being held securely away from where she really wanted them, she took to leaning her hips forward to gently grind against Dipper. It felt like the breath in his lungs were completely knocked out of his chest, leaving him practically gasping. Admittedly, he hadn’t had sex before, so feeling someone else move up against him like that was a brand new experience. Dipper just didn’t want it right then. He didn’t want sex.

“K-Katie…stop,” Dipper tried, beginning to angle his hips away from her so she couldn’t have access to him like that. This was a struggle. He could feel his jeans getting a bit tight since his nether regions didn’t understand that he didn’t want this, and Dipper could feel embarrassment flood every part of his body. He couldn’t believe this. Why was this happening? Things had been going rather smoothly, and now this. Dipper thought briefly about how he just shouldn’t have any friends, then he wouldn’t have predicaments such as these, when he heard another voice from behind Katie.

“Katie?!”

It was a familiar voice, though it was a higher pitched one. The black-haired girl stopped her movements, and gave Dipper the perfect opportunity to let go of her wrists and nudge her off of him. He instantly slinked past her and stood beside Victoria, who was absolutely livid.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” the redhead accused, going to stand in front of Dipper to protect him. “…You’re going home. Come on. I’m taking you home.”

Victoria moved to take Katie’s arm, and led her past Dipper to head back to the group. Dipper didn’t know what to do. He knew the first thing to do was to rebutton his jeans at least, which he did without an issue. He then finally got past his confused and tipsy stupor to go into the men’s room, turning on the faucet to cold water to splash on his face. Hopefully that would clear up any problems in his lower regions. There was no way he was going to go back to everyone at the table and be sporting a bud. Dipper just stayed there in the rustic-style bathroom for a good five minutes, relieved to have the privacy that offered. He really had no idea how to act in social situations like that. At least he wasn’t touched any more than he had been. Just the thought of it was making him sick. And he’d been having such a nice evening, too. It was hard to believe just a mere 24 hours ago, he was entering the library to begin his night of studying. None of this would’ve happened if he hadn’t gone to the library. If he’d only manned up and stayed in his dorm room as his roommate and Aaron’s girlfriend were going at it, or just kicked her out altogether. But then Dipper wouldn’t have known about the extension he could request, and might have failed the test because he was so tired. And he wouldn’t have met Victoria. And she was slowly becoming a good friend to Dipper. And he wouldn’t have met Victoria if he hadn’t met Bill. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing he went to the library.

~

Drying off his dripping, cold face once things finally cleared up, Dipper then exited the bathroom and went to rejoin the group at the table, only to find the group had left, save for one bored blonde. Dipper rubbed the back of his neck and sat down across from Bill, not really sure what to do from there. Bill simply looked at Dipper, though it didn’t seem like he was mulling anything over. At least it didn’t feel like he was being judged. That was a plus.

“…Hey,” Bill eventually said, which was probably more awkward than the silence.

“…Hey,” Dipper returned quietly, taking a sip of his iced tea. “…Did Victoria…?”

“Yeah,” the blonde confirmed, sitting back in his seat to fold his arms over his chest. “She collected the girls to take them back to their dorms. I offered to go in her place, but she said she had a feeling you didn’t want to be left alone with another girl right now.”

Bill finished talking and Dipper didn’t know what to say, so all the brunet did was give a slight nod and continued drinking his tea, glad at least that his head was clearing up from the alcohol. The blonde studied him, as though he were turning a few thoughts over in his head before he spoke again.

“…Are you okay?” he ended up asking, though that didn’t seem to be what he’d been thinking about. Dipper’s eyes flicked up to look at the other, meeting the bright blue eyes that actually began to hold emotion. Bill seemed genuinely worried about him, which Dipper felt a bit surprised at, considering how angry the blonde had been earlier. He stopped sipping at his drink and set it down, giving Bill a small smile and a nod. Words weren’t Dipper’s strong suit, despite his wanting to write and his love to read. Especially in this moment, he wasn’t even sure what he could possibly say. He instead crossed his arms over the table and leaned forward on them, his feet crossing over each other beneath the table. Dipper really wasn’t sure what to do in that moment.

“…You want to hang out here with me, or do you want me to take you home?” Bill asked quietly. “There’s no pressure for anything, I just wasn’t sure if you’d prefer either way.”

Dipper truly thought about the offers for a moment, weighing both of them to see which one appealed more to him. He really didn’t want to stay in the restaurant for much longer, but he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to be alone right then. Then again, maybe being alone was the best option for him. There was no doubt that Aaron left his dorm to hang out with his girlfriend, so Dipper would probably just be home alone. Then he could slip into his pajamas and just marathon a bunch of tv shows on his laptop, or something. Then again, staying with someone else he could apparently trust sounded a bit more appealing. Bill seemed nice, and was supportive in ensuring Dipper’s safety. Maybe Dipper should just stay with him for a little bit.

“…I don’t really…want to be alone,” Dipper admitted softly, then realized what that might be misconstrued as. “Not-not like that. I just mean-“

“I know,” Bill reassured, finishing off his red wine. He pulled out his wallet and placed his own money amount with added tip to the rest of the table’s, and soon Dipper followed his lead and did the same. “How about we go for a walk? If you want. Full moon tonight. Sometimes exercising right after something big like that happens helps your mind deal with things.”

Dipper would have to look into that to see if it was true, so then he could add it to his mental list of random facts he always kept handy. He nodded though, and stood up once his wallet was securely back in its place in his back pocket. Bill rose after him, and gestured for him to follow before he put his hands in the pockets of his black jacket. They made their way through the throngs of restaurant goers and tables, and Dipper gave a polite wave to their waitress who immediately returned the sentiment. Once outside, the brunet felt immediately better with the feeling of no social or physical constraints around him, save for the scattered trees lining the various cobblestone paths. The warmed springtime air ghosted over his skin, giving him a slight sense of comfort from being out in the open. There was just something about nature that always made Dipper feel so alive.

“…Thank you,” Dipper said softly as he followed Bill’s relaxed trot down a path. “I feel better already. And you’re right. Full moon.”

Looking up at the moon that was glimmering between the bared tree limbs above them, the brunet could make out the small hints of leaf buds that lined the various branches. It really was a beautiful night. Bill simply offered a small smile in return, which fell rather quickly into his usual straight-lined resting expression. Bill seemed to go for a neutral look for his resting face, whereas Dipper’s was always a faint smile. They walked casually through the winding paths that all seemed to connect to each other on campus, and Bill even went as far as to show Dipper various spots in the college that not too many people knew about. He suddenly went off the path to head into a thicket of trees, barely glancing behind him to make sure Dipper was still following him before he just disappeared behind one of the pines. Dipper immediately was on Bill’s heels, not really wanting to be left out in the dark in new areas he wasn’t entirely familiar with, and quickly dashed behind the tree line to look for the blonde. It wasn’t difficult to locate Bill thankfully, and the brunet was soon led to a small clearing in the miniature forest, where there were three large tree stumps cut down in the center of the clearing, with colorful wildflowers and various plants spilling out of the cracks of the trees. Bill walked over to the trunks and stepped up onto one, pulling his hands out of his pockets to pose atop of it like a statue would, with his arms above him and curled to display his brute strength.

“…Do I look every bit as regal as I feel?” Bill grinned, looking out of the corner of his eye down at Dipper who chuckled as a response. “I’ll take that as a yes, because if it’s a no, I’m going to be pissed.”

“Oh, well we wouldn’t want that then, would we?” Dipper teased, pulling his own hands out of his hoodie as he looked up at Bill. “…You look like you have a stick up your butt, Mister Regal.”

“…That’s just to help with the posing,” the blonde laughed, making Dipper grin. The blonde took to dramatically waving his hands and arms about, as though he were summoning attention from the woodland animals hiding amongst the trees to bring all the attention to himself. Dipper had to admit that he was envious of how Bill so easily commanded attention when there was none to give. It seemed as though the blonde was still granted it despite. “I declare myself before my witness, that I, Bill Cipher, am king of this here…what is this I’m even standing on…trunk! This here trunk.”

“And any that oppose you will…will be banished to the office hour of quantum physics,” Dipper quipped, placing his hands against one of the trunks to lean against them as he watched Bill.

“Hmm, but quantum physics can be fun,” Bill mused, his lips pursed more than necessary. His face was clearly outlined by the light of the moon, unfiltered by the branches that threatened to grow overtop of them. The blonde really was attractive, what with the pale moonlight illuminating against his darkened skin, sending his blonde hair glittering.

“True, but not when you have Mr. Jefferson,” Dipper clarified, earning him a laugh from Bill, who shook his head and sighed.

“Wow, you’re really evil,” Bill grinned, then held out his hands for the brunet to grab hold of. “I, king-of-the-trunk Bill Cipher, hereby appoint you, sire Dipper Pines, as my official advisor. Now, rise up with me so that the moon can be our witness.”

Grinning before he took the offered hands, the brunet then finally did to aid in their silly game, and was hoisted up to stand beside Bill on the tallest of the levelled tree trunks, with the moon sending the pale skin of his face and hands aglow. They probably didn’t need to be holding hands for as long as they were, but Dipper and Bill both convinced themselves that it was simply part of their little game, and it was all just to take the brunet’s mind off of being sexually assaulted. Dipper needed some silliness, and if he was a nerd that was into Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons, then Bill would feed that nerdiness to help him feel better. Bill himself had never played that game before, but a quick internet search revealed the bare bones of the game, and made it easier to sort of reference it in this smallish game of teasing of theirs.

“I do accept, king-of-the-trunk Bill Cipher,” Dipper smiled up at the blonde, who then gave a hearty, dramatic laugh and pointed up to the bright full moon nearly fully above them. “See that! There’s our witness, Dipper Pines. Now you can’t escape me. I’m your ruler, and you’re my liege. I know, I know, that makes no sense, but what’s a king without the guidance of an advisor? Doesn’t that technically make the ruler ruled? Or am I getting too much into semantics here?”

Dipper laughed easily as Bill prattled on about the meanings of words and politics, finding he was actually liking that they weren’t releasing hands just yet. It was comforting, if nothing else. The brunet looked up at the moon with his wide smile ever present on his face, and the blonde finally trailed off mid-speech. It was silence all around them for a moment as Bill just looked at Dipper and took all of him in, who was completely oblivious to the attention for a few moments before he finally turned to see he was being stared at again. Bill just seemed to like to stare at people. Namely him.

“…I do believe that makes the ruler ruled,” Dipper raised a brow, keeping his smile there. He met the shining blue eyes head-on, his own chocolate brown eyes glittering slightly in the moonlight. This was really a romantic spot. “…You should bring Victoria here.”

The brunet had a lot of talents and skills, some of which were never actually fully utilized or anything of the sort. Dipper was good at mental math, at solving complex equations, and reading an entire Agatha Christie book within an hour, memorizing the entirety of it to be then quizzed on ruthlessly upon completion. But much like the skill of cooking, Dipper lacked the intuitiveness to tell when to say something, and when not to say something. This of course, was one of those times. In one fell swoop, Dipper just obliterated the mood, and Bill was brought right back to reality from their little game that nearly developed into something else entirely.

“…Victoria,” Bill murmured back, nodding before he glanced back up at the moon. “…She will be the queen, then. Sound good?”

Bill finally let go of Dipper’s hand, opting instead to put them back where they belonged in his jacket pockets, and took to just looking up at the moon and stars that were small pinpricks of light amongst the vast sea of navy blue. It was a clear night, and the wind began picking up some, but not enough to head indoors. Dipper mimicked Bill’s actions since his hand was now reclaimed as his own, and set them both nestled inside his pocket of his hoodie, only after he drew up his hood though. Peering out into the night, the stillness was sort of welcoming and felt almost like home to the brunet. He was used to long nights spent under the stars with his family, whether they were camping or simply lounging out under the porch after a long day of swindling some tourists looking for a cheap thrill. Nights like these brought back fond memories of the summertime for Dipper, as well as a sense of nostalgia that was both melancholy and warm. The warmth of the campfire as they huddled together to tell ghost stories, the chill of the moon on their backs when the light finally went out. Dipper wondered if Bill had any memories like that.

“…What are you thinking about?” Dipper decided to ask instead, since he thought that would be a more interesting question than ‘what’s your life story, Bill?’ The blonde didn’t give much indication that he even heard Dipper, though he did glance down at him from the corner of his eye when the brunet turned to see if he was even paying attention. After a few long moments of continued silence, Bill finally looked down at Dipper with a small, genuine smile.

“…I was thinking about how ridiculous you look with that hood on,” he said softly, then cackled at his own tease. He couldn’t keep a straight face for long with Dipper, that much was easy to tell right away. The brunet rolled his eyes and laughed, though he really was wondering what Bill had been thinking about. Maybe when they were better friends, Bill would let him in more.

“Psh, I know you’re just jealous,” Dipper grinned, and Bill just chuckled as he shook his head. “I know it’s difficult to emit this amount of cute, but you’re just going to have to get used to it. It’s just the way I am.”

“…Just the way you are,” Bill echoed softly. “…You sound so corny right now.”

“Oh God, you don’t even know the half of it with me,” Dipper laughed. “I can go from zero to fondue on the cheese scale. It’s pretty bad. Puns too. I’m really bad with puns. Or really good. Either way, I make the worst ones. You will cringe. I’ll save them just for you.”

“Oh dear God,” Bill laughed through his attempt to look horrified. “You just want to kill me with these bad jokes of yours, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Y-…well, at least you’re honest,” Bill snorted, withdrawing a hand from his pocket to rub his face. They were hitting things off pretty well, it seemed. Dipper was just glad that Bill wasn’t angry with him anymore, for whatever freak incident that had been. He stifled a yawn, and sneakily looked at his flip-phone to see what time it was. When did it turn to nine?

“…It’s 9 o’clock?” Dipper asked surprised, to which Bill didn’t believe him. The blonde rolled his eyes as he got out his smartphone, a stark contrast to Dipper’s cellular device.

“Oh yeah? I thought it was midni-“ Bill began and cut himself off as he looked at the time. They’d spent two hours together? It only felt like ten minutes. “…Oh…it is actually 9 o’clock. Damn. When did that happen?”

“…Probably right after 8 o’clock,” Dipper quipped, referencing Bill’s sass during their first meeting. Bill didn’t miss it, and made a slight face in response, though it was purely in joking. “…I should probably head home. You need to check on Victoria anyway, right?”

Dipper leaped off the tree trunk and landed softly in the grass, successfully avoiding taking out any wildflowers on the way down. He looked back up at Bill and smiled, having really enjoyed this friendly get together with him. He had to say he liked Victoria and Bill the most. Taylor and Cindy were nice too, so maybe just the five of them could get together. Dipper wasn’t really interested in meeting up again with Katie. Not when she didn’t understand no was no. He hadn’t had much opportunity to talk with Daphne, but that girl seemed really odd. Bill looked down at the brunet and sighed, pocketing his phone before he followed suit and landed beside Dipper.

“…Alright. I’ll walk you home,” Bill phrased as a statement, not even as a question or offer. Dipper didn’t mind though, as he probably would’ve asked to be walked home anyway. The pair of them exited the small bustle of trees and found themselves on the cobblestone path again, though Bill seemed to expertly know right where they were going. Halfway to Dipper’s dorm building though, Bill suddenly stopped, making Dipper turn to face him to see what the matter was. The blonde was looking at the building in the distance, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“…What’s up?” Dipper asked softly, shifting his weight between his feet. He wasn’t sure what the holdup was, but Bill seemed deep in thought suddenly. The blonde pursed his lips and glanced down at Dipper, raising a brow.

“…Do you think Aaron’s girlfriend will be in your dorm room again?” Bill questioned. In all truth, Dipper hadn’t even thought of that. There was definitely the possibility. He groaned quietly and glanced to the side as he thought. It was Friday night, and if they were out already on a date, they were probably going to go back to their dorm and continue the date. Dipper really didn’t want to deal with that.

“…If she is, I’m kicking her out,” the brunet decided, slightly furling his brow. “I’m not losing out on another night of sleep just because those two refuse to sleep. Besides, I know where you live, and I know you have a floor, so if worse comes to worse, I’ll just bug you. Sound fair?”

Bill still hesitated, but eventually relented. Once more he led Dipper back down the path to his dorm, and found himself opening the door to the building and holding it for the brunet as he continued to be deep in thought. Dipper quietly thanked him and went through to the second set of doors, opening and holding that one open for Bill. The blonde snorted softly and accepted the offer, moving past Dipper to lead him up the stairs. A few flights of stairs later, and Dipper was only slightly panting as Bill easily walked down the hallway to Dipper’s door, obviously used to much more strenuous conditions. The ease the taller male had in finding the shorter’s dorm raised the question once again in Dipper’s mind. How did Bill know where his dorm was? Dipper just had to know.

“…Hey,” Dipper called Bill’s attention softly, just in the off chance anyone was sleeping. “…How do you know where my room is? I mean, I don’t exactly remember telling you.”

“I asked around,” Bill simply said with a shrug, stepping back from the door so Dipper could unlock it. “When I got your bag of pastries and the note thanking me, I wanted to come and see you to tell you that you didn’t have to do that. It was nice. They were good. I didn’t actually get the chance to tell you that though, since you caught me in a…sort of bitchy mood.”

“…Yeah, I sort of noticed that,” Dipper offered a half-smile, trying to show there were no hard feelings about the incredible amount of salt earlier. He reached into his back pocket and withdrew his wallet to take out his key he always kept stored in there. In a matter of seconds, the door was unlocked and Dipper opened it to reveal that Aaron and his girlfriend were nowhere inside. Flicking on the lightswitch, Dipper left the door open as he went inside to put away his wallet and pull off his hoodie. “…You can come in if you want. Or if you have to go, that’s cool too.”

Bill stood in the doorway and leaned on the frame as he looked around Dipper’s dorm, easily able to tell which side was Dipper’s and which side was Aaron’s. Aaron was a neat person, where everything was prim and proper and in the perfect place, while Dipper’s was the creative genius that had piles of messes, yet knew right where everything was. Bill had to stifle a laugh at how they were paired together. He wanted to place a bet that they drove each other nuts. Maybe Victoria could cut in.

“…I should head out,” Bill said softly, even though he was beginning to walk into the dorm. “…Victoria and…all that.”

Dipper toed off his shoes and socks, setting them in their relatively proper places before sitting down on the bed to just watch Bill and see where he was looking. It almost felt like he was searching for something, but to what, Dipper wasn’t sure of. It felt like a long few moments before the blonde was looking down at him on the bed, and seemed to have come back to reality.

“…Well, thanks for inviting me in. Sorry about tonight. Hopefully it didn’t end as badly as it sort of started,” Bill apologized, then turned to leave. He lingered in the doorway for a moment as he battled a sudden thought, finally deciding to clue Dipper in. “…By the way. If you don’t want Victoria to hook you up with anyone, just let her know. I can even tell her if you want. She was just trying to see if you were gay.”

With that tidbit of information, Bill walked away and headed down the flights of stairs, leaving a completely stunned Dipper in his wake. Victoria was wondering if he was gay? That was news to him. Even Dipper didn’t think he was gay. He just didn’t really care about orientations and sexualities. To each their own, but for Dipper, he’d just refuse his own. He just didn’t care. If anything, maybe he was bi. Dipper shook his head to clear himself of the sudden worriment over how he wasn’t being labelled as anything and didn’t fit perfectly into a little subcategory, and did his best to brush it off. He shouldn’t be focused on being with anyone right now anyway. He had to focus on classes, and then he’d just finish out the schoolyear well and get his associate’s in mathematics. Then he could spend the summer back home in Gravity Falls, and completely forget about what other people thought of him. At least until the fall, when he returned to begin his bachelor’s. Maybe he could double major.

Dipper laid his head back against the pillow and just stared up at the textured white ceiling for a long while, even as he felt his eyes start to droop from the adrenaline finally wearing off. Maybe that’s why it was good to do some form of physical exercise after something big happened. The initial adrenaline had somewhere to go instead of burning your veins with anxiety. Dipper stored that on his mental list of random facts, and reached into his side table’s drawer to get his latest mystery novel he was working on. A night curled up under the blankets with Poirot being the incredible Belgian sleuth he was sounded perfect.

Maybe he’d text Victoria tomorrow.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really hoping someone gets the little joke for the chapter title. I really hope so. ( ͡° ͜ ʖ ͡° )
> 
> Have some nerds being nerds together. Bunch of nerds. Oilux, look at our sons. Look at them being so gay. Look at it, and look at it hard.
> 
> I hope you're ready for the shaving cream when it comes.


	4. Catch-22

~

All Dipper really remembered clearly was the sound of the door shutting quietly, some blankets moving slightly, and a bundle of hushed snores before he fell asleep. Dipper slept soundly through the night, and awoke to the soft sound of buzzing beside his head. Groggy brown eyes opened to slits as he pulled his pillow over his head, absolutely refusing to acknowledge the day. It wasn’t there if he couldn’t see it. If he could have, he would have slept all day. It seemed Dipper was denied that luxury though, as his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. Peeking out from under the pillow, Dipper could see that Aaron was still soundly sleeping, and surprisingly without his bedmate. Maybe that girl finally put gas in her car. Reaching forward, Dipper picked up the phone to join him under the pillow, just so his voice would be muffled and not wake up his roommate. He flipped open his phone and hit the green accept button. He really needed a new phone.

“…Hello?” his voice slightly cracked due to hours without use. At least it wasn’t due to any prepubescent reasons, so he had an excuse.

“Hey! Don’t tell me you’re still asleep!” a cheery voice rang over the speaker, forcing the receiver more awake. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. No girls, no dates. Just me and Billy. Or just me. We can hang out – with no drinks – and just do whatever. We can even stay on campus in our dorms if you want.”

Dipper thumbed his eyelids as the girl spoke, not wanting to be rude but also not really in the mood to actually be out and about again. A guy could only handle so much in such a short period of time. The offer was kind though, especially since she was considerate enough to not force more people on him. Dipper didn’t think he’d be wanting to meet anyone new for a while now.

“…Actually, I need a lot of schoolwork done this weekend,” Dipper excused himself quietly. “But maybe sometime soon? I just…have a lot to get done right now.”

He could practically hear the pout over the phone, and had half a mind to just take it back and endure more social outings. Luckily he was saved from that, as Victoria relented to let him get his supposed work done. Dipper really did have to continue studying for chemistry, after all. It was finals. The extension could only last for so long, and he wasn’t interested in making any enemies of the teachers, or having them think he was getting lax on work.

“Okay. But you better text me at regular intervals so I know you’re okay,” she bargained, and Dipper wondered what the increments of the intervals were. He didn’t really want to ask, since that would just sign him on to actually be expected to do so. Dipper didn’t realize he really was expected to though. “You better ace that test, by the way. We’ll celebrate when you’re all done, sound good?”

“…Sounds good,” Dipper smiled, still speaking softly. “I’ll text when I can, but don’t call the fire brigade if I miss one. I get caught up sometimes when I focus too much on one thing. The last thing I need is a bunch of firefighters and policemen chopping down my door to see me in my boxers.”

“You study in your underwear?” Victoria teased, eliciting a groan from the brunet. “I’m joking, I’m joking, hahah. Alright, so no men in uniform. I got it. What about women in uniform, eh?”

“Just as bad.”

“Awe, you’re no fun.”

“Why do you want people to see me in my underwear! Just for that, I’m wearing pants today,” Dipper laughed softly, poking the pillow up so he had some fresh air. “…I do actually wear pants every day. Don’t get me wrong, here.”

Victoria gave a quick laugh, the earpiece crackling slightly in response. Dipper smiled more to himself at how he seemed to make a good friend inadvertently. He and the redhead seemed to be on their way to becoming best friends in the short span of two days. Dipper was at least glad she was able to get along with him, since his was a personality riddled with habits that forced him to be more of a loner. Dipper just didn’t understand social norms and found interactions with people at times to be tedious, only because he wasn’t sure how to handle them at all.

“Well, I should probably let you go, huh?” Victoria eventually said, though it was pretty obvious she wanted to keep talking. “You better work quick, Dip. Things aren’t as lively without you.”

Dipper initially nodded, then remembered the other couldn’t see him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll try to be as quick as I can,” Dipper agreed, though he wasn’t sure how exactly one rushed studying. “Tell Bill I said hi. I’ll text you soon.”

“Oh, you’re on speakerphone,” Victoria laughed, and Dipper could hear a muffled groan from the eavesdropper Bill. His face flushed a soft red at the sound. “And now he knows too that you’re usually pantsless. So, good job, Dipper.”

“Oh my God.”

“Talk to you later!”

**Click.**

This was hell, wasn’t it? Dipper groaned into his mattress as he flipped his phone shut again, the soft flap of the plastic hitting plastic dulled by the surrounding of pillowcase around him. Speakerphone. He wasn’t used to talking to anyone over the phone, so he didn’t know the difference of sound when it wasn’t on fancy things like the speakerphone option. He really needed a better phone. Still, Dipper flopped the pillow off his head and sat up in bed, reaching over to turn on their little space heater since it was pretty cold. It wasn’t even eight yet, how were people up so early on a Saturday? Namely people like Bill and Victoria. Dipper shrugged it off and stood to go to his desk, pulling off his textbooks and journals to begin studying before breakfast. Hopefully he wouldn’t forget to eat. He probably would.

~

“What do you want to do today, Billy?” the redhead asked once she set down her smartphone on the coffee table before her. She walked over to Bill, who was reclining on the couch in her fairly lavish apartment located just off-campus. Victoria had money to burn, that much was evident with her off-white walls halved by the navy blue that slashed through the bottom portion of the wall, and the darkened oak floorboards that gave foundation to the ornate, classical furniture decorated sparsely throughout the room. The apartment was by no means a studio as it boasted copious amounts of space, and was definitely costing someone a pretty penny. Draping herself over the blond, Victoria heaved a dramatic sigh at his silence. He was always thinking about other things, always so introspective.

“…I’m fine with this,” Bill said softly, his hands automatically going to gently caress his girlfriend’s back. “Why can’t we just stay in today? Just us?”

“Well, I guess we can,” Victoria relented, laying her head on his chest. “…I just get so bored. Not with you, just in general. I always need something to do.”

“…You need to learn to live in the moment,” Bill suggested, though he himself was staring at the way the lace curtain slightly moved from the air currents seeping through the windowsill. He was content to just lay there all day, without a care in the world. His coursework was caught up, his friends were all busy, and it was too cold to throw a football around anyway. Winter needed to make up its mind on whether it was coming or going.

“What if we went out and got some breakfast, and then came back home?” Victoria suggested, her manicured nails tapping gently on Bill’s chest. “We should eat, right? Then we can stay at home and just…lay here, I guess. Whatever you want to do.”

Bill sighed through his nose, the prospect of food interfering with his plans to do absolutely nothing. He probably wouldn’t have even breathed if it weren’t necessary.

“…Do we have to?” Bill outright whined, finally turning his attentions to the girl laying on top of him. “I want to be lazy. Really lazy. I just want to lay here.”

“Stop being a cat,” Victoria snorted softly. “Even cats eat. You need to eat. I need to eat.”

“Oh, so this is about you, is it?” he smirked, his hands moving to gently brush against the redhead’s cheeks. His fingertips ghosted over her temples as his palms tenderly cupped her face. It was such a shame. “…Maybe we should do something after all.”

Bill sat up, forcing the other into his lap as he moved and settled into place. He was having those thoughts again, and needed to drive them out. Reading glasses were not that cute. Or at least, they weren’t supposed to be that cute. He needed to stop thinking about it.

“…What did you have in mind?” Victoria practically purred, not missing the way Bill didn’t let an inch of distance between them.

“I might have…a few ideas,” Bill said softly, leaning forward to brush his lips against her forehead. He fought to keep his eyes open, to remind himself of who he was with, or rather **what** he was with. No, no time for those thoughts now. His hands left her face to trail down her front, causing him to draw out numerous soft sounds of affirmation from his partner. She was beautiful. She had wealth, she had a kind heart, and had an amazing body, toned and curved in all the right places. Victoria was the true essence of a woman, or at least what a woman meant to Bill.

‘ _Keep your eyes open,_ ’ he reminded himself sternly, his blue eyes immediately widening to keep himself grounded. He needed to stop thinking about everything and just experience the moment. The same moment he forced on himself to convince himself and prove to everyone that he was in fact attracted to women. Isn’t that the reason he’d earned the name Stamina? Since he wasn’t able to actually finish from the stimulation alone? It just wasn’t the same. Or at least, it just wasn’t what he wanted. Bill always had a difficult time reaching his climax with any woman. He would just tell himself that he hadn’t found the right woman yet, and that that was just something he’d probably never find. He got along well enough with Victoria, from her always-on-point makeup to her polished nails and strappy heels. She could capture the eye of any man in any room, as well as some women’s too.

When Bill had first met her three months prior, he admittedly had to look at everyone else’s reaction to her before he made a move. Once he saw how much of a woman she was to every male in the room though, Bill had wasted no time in going up to her to make a move. After that, they were inseparable. They were always together, as though joined by the hip. Bill hardly ever got a moment to himself, but it was purely out of his own choice rather than Victoria’s. He needed proof. He needed her to convince him. It was so much pressure to put on her, and here she didn’t even know. Or at least, Bill never told her. Not in words. It wasn’t that difficult to figure out though, with the way he’d always make sure she was screaming his name.

“…Baby,” Victoria murmured, her arms going to wrap around Bill’s shoulders. Her lips went to trail soft kisses to his jawline in an attempt to pull him back into reality. “Baby where do you keep going?”

“…Sorry,” Bill mumbled back, proceeding to then tilt his chin up to let Victoria have better access to his neck. “…Been doing that lately.”

“Yeah…I know,” she said softly, which made Bill’s brow furl just a bit. She knew? She knew what? Admittedly he hadn’t been paying much attention to their sudden conversing, but if she knew something, he wanted to make sure of just what it was she apparently knew. Bill snapped back to reality fully, his eyes hooding as he tried to look down at her.

“…What?” Bill asked, moving back slightly just to lean forward again and press kisses on her cheek. “What do you know?”

Victoria leaned into all of the affections given to her, and couldn’t help but wonder if Bill was being serious with that question. She knew quite a bit, and sadly probably more than Bill himself did, or wanted to. Opting instead for playful banter instead of a full-out discussion, Victoria simply smiled and slightly turned her head so she could capture his lips with hers for a few moments. He really was so gentle and methodical in his affections, almost as though each one were planned and executed rather than felt and experienced. Maybe this was a bad idea.

“…I know…that you’re an amazing guy,” Victoria began once their lips had parted. After each ‘confession’ she made, she pressed another kiss to his lips. “I know that you care a lot about me. I know that you’re one smart cookie, and that you’re much more sweeter than you let on.”

“…I let on that I’m pretty sweet,” Bill protested once her lips left his again. His bottom lip stuck out slightly in a pout, and Victoria drew back enough to give him a knowing smirk. “What! I do. Don’t I?”

“…Not really, babe,” Victoria sighed, though she took to nuzzling him instead. “…How about we wait until you’re not busy with other things? I don’t mind waiting for you, and it seems like you need the time.”

“I…I don’t have to wait,” Bill protested, not really wanting to give the thoughts any more fuel than they already had. He shook his head to clear away the remnants of the doubts, and wasted no time in gently pushing down the redhead to hover over top of her. Her lips were easily claimed by his as his hands went to caress every part of her he could find. Soft, pleasing sounds escaped her and spilled into the kiss, her own hands instinctively going up above her head to let Bill take control. He had no problem with doing just that, his hands moving up and under her shirt to travel along her stomach to her bra, letting his fingers knead the small bit of chest standing alone between her breasts.

Victoria’s back arching up slightly at the tease, she let out small mewls to encourage him to touch her more. Her hands were kneading the arm of the couch to keep from lowering them from their position, since Bill had previously made clear that he liked being in complete control. She supposed there was a satisfying factor to it for him, otherwise he wouldn’t have her unbound and left with a choice of lowering her hands. Staying right where she was, she breathed heavily as she fought the urge to just raise up her hips to get him started. Bill was so particular. She didn’t mind really, as having him there at all outweighed the strangeness of the requests.

The first time he told her not to touch him was odd and admittedly hurt her. Still, she had done as he had asked and didn’t touch him, and as reward, she was given one of the best orgasms of her life. The gentleness of his touch on her breastbone displayed the stark contrast between his words and his actions. Bill was a very gentle lover, until he got going. It was almost like a race to the finish with them, and Victoria loved it. They would move as slowly as rolling waves on the ocean’s top, then progress into rough, memorable sex, with a rhythm of pounding she could still feel in her head afterwards. She had her suspicions as to why he would become rough, but with each friend of Bill’s she cleared, her suspicions could be deluded that much more. Especially when he kept his eyes on her. It showed he was actively with her, and not thinking about anything else. Sadly, how wrong she was.

“…Do you want me to touch you more?” Bill cooed, half debating raising his hand slightly so she would be able to feel the heat of his palm, but without the satisfaction of his touch. He needed her aroused though, otherwise it wouldn’t work for him. “Where do you want me to touch you, baby? Where do you want my hands?”

This was in no way the first time for either of them, not even including their time together. Victoria had been around the block more than once, and as such, had no problems with asking for exactly what she wanted. Bill probably liked that most about her, since it left no room for error with his actions. He himself had probably laid down with every female student on campus, or was actively trying to. Bill probably would’ve sought out the female teachers as well, if he wasn’t worried about being labelled about it. He just didn’t want anyone – including himself – using sex as a means to an end. Well, despite the end he was trying to meet.

~

It was probably about 7 o’clock at night when Dipper finally tore his eyes off of the textbook, setting his journal shut in front of him on the bed. His back was absolutely sore. He was definitely going to be feeling that tomorrow. Had he even eaten anything? Dipper at least had remembered to text Victoria every now and then, though it didn’t do much good as she never wrote back. She probably just didn’t want to be a distraction for him, which he figured he’d appreciate at another time. Dipper didn’t like studying, though he was always interested in learning. His personal beliefs were that if he didn’t understand it the first time, there was probably not going to be a second time. There were just always too many interesting things to do besides studying, but it was a battle he’d have to fight every once in a while. It was important to study, after all.

“Hey man, you okay?” Aaron asked after he swiveled around on the desk chair to see Dipper shut his textbook triumphantly. “You through tonight?”

“Yeah, more or less,” the brunet yawned in response, completely worn out and bored. “Chemistry’s cool, but reading and writing over the same thing over and over and over again gets so…blah. What are you up to?”

“Well, actually…” Aaron began, and Dipper feared the worst.

“…Is your girlfriend coming over again?” he asked dejectedly. He wasn’t really wanting to have an excuse and go out again to give them privacy, but even less did he want to ask that she leave them alone for the night after the date was through.

“What? No, no she’s out of town now,” Aaron offered a half-smile, his black horn-rimmed glasses bouncing up slightly from the cheek raise. “No, I...actually wanted to talk with you about something. If that’s alright with you. Like, if you have no plans or anything.”

Dipper made a show of picking up his study books and setting them on his nightstand to show he was through, and pat the freed-up bed in front of him to welcome the black-haired roommate to take a seat.

“I got time, man,” he smiled, leaning back and taking his pillow to hold close. It was his subconscious way of deflecting any verbal blows if there were to be any, which Dipper prepared for regardless of danger thanks to his constant anxiety. It never seemed to be good when someone came up to him and said ‘I want to talk with you.’

“…Okay,” Aaron nodded, getting up and sitting at the foot of Dipper’s bed. “So…I’m not mad or anything-“

“Oh God.”

“No, Dipper, it’s okay,” Aaron reassured, his hands up in surrender before he placed them neatly back onto his lap. “See…your friend came by yesterday, and…man it was so awkward.”

“…When I was sleeping? Was he looking for me?” Dipper asked, unable to help his brow quirking up in curiosity.

“…Not exactly,” Aaron explained. “He was actually looking for me. But see, I never met him before. I know he’s like…a really well-known student on campus, but that’s about it. He’s like, into football or something? I don’t know. He bangs a lot of chicks. Anyway…”

Dipper made a slight face at the blunt words, but didn’t interrupt as Aaron spoke. Bill came to see Aaron? And they didn’t know each other?

“…He told me I need to stop letting my girlfriend stay overnight, because that’s messing you up or something?” Aaron said with a confused tone. “…I didn’t know anything about this. Why didn’t you tell me? I mean, I’ll make sure she’s out by a curfew if you want, I had no idea her car would run out of gas, and well, you know how gas stations are at night. Heh. But um, yeah, just like, next time tell me, Dipper. I don’t mind.”

“…Wait, he…he came and told you that? About your girlfriend?” Dipper asked, both brows raised at this point. “…Aaron, I’m really sorry. It wasn’t as big a deal as Bill probably made it out to be. I…jeez, I’m sorry. I don’t really know why he’d do that.”

Aaron simply nodded, thankfully able to hear the sincerity in Dipper’s words.

“Again, no problem, man,” Aaron smiled. “It was just…mad awkward, y’know? Like, I had no idea who this guy was or what. I’d probably advise you to talk with him about it, because he might accidentally start fights for you if that’s something he usually does. Everything’s cool with us, but if there’s anyone else you might have a problem with, your Bill friend might just blow it out of proportion. I know people like that. My Sadia’s someone like that. She can get cray-zee, man.”

“…Yeah, I’ll…have to talk with him about that,” Dipper nodded, thinking over the new information. “…I just don’t understand why he’d do that.”

“…Maybe he’s just that sort of friend,” Aaron shrugged.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s some people who get super protective over their friends, to the point where they’ll bitch out anyone that even slightly irritates their friend. That’s just how some people are, and they don’t mean to overstep any boundaries, they just don’t realize they’re even there,” Aaron explained, talking mostly with his hands.

“…And you think Bill’s like that?” Dipper asked, holding just a bit tighter onto his pillow.

“…I mean, I don’t know the guy-“

“But you spoke with him,” he interjected, leaning closer to Aaron. “…Isn’t that…what? Controlling? Like, a control freak?”

This was slightly alarming, and Dipper was already feeling nauseous with worry over the new friend he accidentally made. Maybe that was why Victoria wanted him to constantly keep in touch, because they were **both** control freaks, both working together to do whatever it was control freaks did. What did control freaks even do? Dipper made a mental note to look that bit of information up later.

“Dude, just chill,” Aaron laughed quietly, shaking his head. “Look, I really don’t think it’s that bad. Bill was…stern, but he was nice enough. It just seemed like he was worried about you more than anything. I thought he was going to tear your head off when you came out, which was why I excused myself. Sorry if it was super awkward, but I didn’t know what to do, man. I’m guessing everything turned out okay though? Since you two were out yesterday or something?”

“…Yeah, everything was fine,” Dipper nodded, calming down some from his miniature panic attack. “…If I had even known, Aaron…”

“Shh. Dude, let it go. I just wanted to ask you about it, not grill you for the answers to all of life’s mysteries,” Aaron grinned, his glasses bouncing back up. “That’s tomorrow night.”

“Oh good, I’ll have much more references then,” Dipper snorted softly, though he was still avidly thinking about Bill and his actions. It just didn’t seem to sit right with him, especially when Bill had sought out his lodging information just to be able to hound Aaron about his girlfriend. Bill didn’t even know Aaron! Or his girlfriend. That was just a lot to take in at once, but maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if the three of them got together soon, then that way he’d be able to talk more with Bill about whatever got him onto the notion that that was okay to do.

Aaron excused himself to go and get some dinner, and Dipper debated about doing the same. He was pretty hungry, but he really wasn’t in the mood to leave his room or go into the communal kitchen and battle it out with other hungry students, and he really wasn’t in the mood to go out and have dinner in the cafeteria. Maybe he could just do take out, but then that required leaving, too. Dipper groaned and flopped onto his bed, really wanting to be lazy after having spent nearly twelve hours hitting the books so hard. He needed a treat. Or at least he told himself he needed a treat. He was starving.

Opening up his phone, he hesitated for just a split second as he saw a text from Victoria, apologizing for not writing back and wanting to know how he was doing with his chemistry. He was going to order pizza, but maybe he could get two things done at once. Pressing the green call button, Dipper held up his flip phone to his ear and crossed his legs as he sat on his bed. He pulled his pillow close to him, still out of personal protection rather than comfort.

“…Victoria?” he asked once the line was picked up. “Hey, it’s me, Dipper.”

“Oh, hey Dip!” Victoria happily replied. “You done your schoolwork, you nerd?”

“Heh, yeah. I was actually wondering, I haven’t eaten all day because I was too busy being a nerd. Wondered if you and Bill wanted to stop over at my dorm and we can have dinner together? If you still wanted to hang out, of course,” Dipper tacked on, since he didn’t want either of them to feel pressured. “I was just thinking of ordering a pizza or something, and wanted to see if that might be something you wanted to do before I made the order. No pressure, okay? Just wanted to invite you. And make sure I had enough pizza to fill you two up. There was that, too.”

He could hear clearly through the phone onto the other end as Victoria pulled her phone away from her ear to talk with Bill about it, no doubt checking to see if he was even interested in eating. Dipper twiddled a corner of his pillowcase between his thumb and forefinger as he waited patiently for her to address him again.

“Dipper?”

“Yeah? I’m still here.”

“Sounds good for us! But I’m warning you, I like extra sauce, but not extra cheese,” Victoria said excitedly. “Billy likes olives and pepperoni. No, I’m serious. I don’t know why.”

“…Like, together or half and half?” Dipper asked, both his brows raised. Bill was such a weird guy.

“…Together,” Victoria jokingly groaned, which turned into a soft laugh when Bill nudged her. “You wanna go Dutch? I don’t want to limit your dinner choices, and it would be fair if we each paid a portion.”

“No, thanks though,” Dipper smiled, looking down at the fabric between his fingers. “I get the pizza this time, you guys get it the next time?”

“You sure know how to make a deal, Dip,” Victoria agreed, and Dipper could hear the sound of rustling as she apparently sat up. Or stood up, it was hard to tell. “Alright, so you put in the order, and it should be like, what, 30-40 minutes? We’ll be there in 20. Yes, Billy, 20. So get your ass up.”

Dipper stifled a laugh as he heard a faint whine from Bill, and went right back to fiddling with the pillowcase. They were a cute couple, Bill and Victoria, but even over the phone their interactions made Dipper feel a bit awkward. He never knew what to do with himself. Still, they were the best friends he’d been having at college thus far.

“Okay, I’ll hang up now so I can call it in. A pizza with extra sauce, but normal cheese, and a pizza with pepperoni and olives as far away from our good pizzas as possible.”

“That sounds perfect, Chemist,” she giggled. “Alrightie, see ya soon!”

**Click.**

Dipper didn’t seem to have to say his partings nowadays, which he wasn’t upset over. He’d be the sort of person who would just stay on the phone in case the other person wasn’t finished talking or wanted to add something on. He wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt of hanging up on someone just as they said “wait!” Dipper had a lot of anxiety.

~

“Heya!” came a cheery, sing-song voice from the hall. “I see your door is open so I’m stopping in and you better have on paaants!”

Dipper recovered his nose from his Agatha Christie book and set his bookmark in place before he put it on his side table. He had the smarts enough to clean up a bit before inviting Bill and Victoria over, so now his side almost resembled Aaron’s. That is, if a tornado hit Aaron’s side. Then they would be identical.

“Hey! I wear pants!” Dipper awkwardly called out, since he really didn’t need his dormmates to think that he was always running around without trousers on. There was enough rumors flying around about him, he didn’t need any more being added to the mix.

“Hah, **this** time!” Victoria giggled once she entered the room. She looked around as she walked inside with Bill in tow. Dipper nodded and smiled at the both of them, and Bill gave a simple wave as a response. He seemed off again, but that just seemed to be Bill’s personality.

“So…we have like, ten minutes to spare before the pizza arrives,” Dipper shrugged, standing up from his bed. “You want to play a game? I have card decks, dice, pretty much everything I think we’d need. Again, the nerd.”

“Ooooh that sounds fun!” the redhead agreed excitedly, already pulling Bill more into the room and sitting him down specifically on Dipper and Aaron’s shared desk chair. She herself opted to sit on Dipper’s bed, her denim skinnies making the bed emit a soft ‘fwomp’ sound as she fell on top of it. Dipper chuckled and went to retrieve the deck of cards from his side table drawer, realizing he kept quite a bit of things in there. Bill scooted over to the bed with his chair, making a point of never lifting his rear so Victoria couldn’t reprimand him on it. She made a slight face at him for his sass, but otherwise said nothing as Dipper’s back was turned.

“Okay! So what are we going to play?” Victoria grinned once Dipper turned around, already excited for whatever they were going to do.

“Strip poker,” Bill suggested, giving an eyebrow wiggle. Dipper laughed at the joke, though Victoria thought it was anything but funny. “Okay, okay, hun. How about we just play Gin Rummy? That’s safe for work, right, babe?”

Dipper found it was time once again to give them their privacy as he sat beside Victoria on his bed, beginning to shuffle the cards as best he could. The deck was quickly seeming to shuffle itself between the brunet’s hands, as they moved so quickly, it seemed they didn’t move at all. Dipper was very skilled at shuffling card decks, since he was well versed in Solitaire.

“Okay, so who wants to brief me on this game?” Dipper asked, holding up the stack of cards. “I’ve played it before, but I totally forget how it goes.”

“…Maybe we should just play Go Fish,” Bill snorted softly, earning him a light punch from Victoria. “What! I love Fish!”

“Which would you rather play, Dipper?” Victoria asked him once she finished rolling her eyes at Bill. “Your deck, your dorm, your rules.”

“…Maybe Go Fish,” he chuckled softly, since it seemed Gin Rummy was going to be a bit more complicated to be briefed on.

“…Do you know how to play this game?” Bill asked as seriously as he could, his thin line of a neutral expression cracking into a smile every other syllable.

“…Maybe I need a briefing for this one too.”

“…Wait, are you – no you’re just pulling my leg,” Bill protested, studying Dipper since he wasn’t sure if he was being honest or not. “…Really? Well, the first thing we do is-“

“Bill, I’m pulling your leg,” Dipper smiled, earning him an exasperated – though joking – groan from the blond. “I’m the Advisor, so I have to know how to play simple games like Go Fish.”

Victoria dealt out the card hands, though looked up as Dipper spoke, a confused expression on her face.

“The Advisor?”

“…It’s nothing, Vic,” Bill immediately interjected, stopping the redhead in her tracks, as well as Dipper. He supposed it really was nothing, so he let it slide. He’d been hoping that that would be a running inside joke with them, but maybe not.

“Alright, Dipper, you got any two’s, nerd?”

~

With the pizza having come and gone, Dipper was happily stationed on his back in his bed with no intentions of moving. He was far too full, as was Victoria. Bill on the other hand was simply content, and found a game of Solitaire to be the perfect thing as the other two just lazed about.

“…You two are being even lazier than me,” Bill smirked, his hands working quickly to place each card down in its correct place. “What if I made you two run around campus right now? You’d probably never want to eat again, and would be so much more productive!”

“Wait, why would we run around campus?” Dipper asked, his eyes closed though his brow raised.

“Yeah, and how exactly would you make us, tough guy?” Victoria grinned, her own eyes closed as well. Bill scoffed, as though insulted.

“Please. I know all of your weak spots, Vic,” Bill reminded, then took a look at Dipper. “…Okay, so I don’t know his, but I will. I’m guessing you won’t just go ahead and clue me in on any, would you, Chemist?”

Dipper crinkled his nose briefly at the nickname coming from Bill now, though he never lost his smile.

“Ah, that would be cheating!” Dipper stated. “For the good of your hunt – and myself – I’m afraid I can’t tell you. Sorry, Bill.”

“…Yeah you’re definitely not sorry,” Bill snorted softly, pausing in his game to glance over the brunet since both he and Victoria’s eyes were closed.

“…Okay maybe just a little bit-“

“Not even a little bit.”

“…Okay maybe…not even a little bit sorry.”

“See!” Bill chuckled, though in all honesty, he didn’t even know what they were talking about anymore.  Victoria peeked an eye open to steal a glance at Bill, noticing how her boyfriend seemed to be looking at their new friend instead of his game. She decided not to say anything, and just let her eye slip closed again as she let out a sigh. Bill picked up on it, and went right back to playing Solitaire, though he would sneak a look over at the brunet on the bed every one and a while.

“How are you not like, in a food coma?” Dipper groaned at Bill, not even bothering to open his eyes. “How much did you even eat? You even had some of mine.”

“…And some of Victoria’s,” Bill reminded, slapping down the last king in place. He took the cards and began to shuffle them all again to begin a new round. “I could never stop eating. I have to maintain these muscles somehow.”

“Bill…” Victoria warned with her tone, her brows knitting together slightly.

“What, I thought you liked my muscles, babe,” Bill smirked, soon shrugging it off and returning his attentions to his seventeenth game. “…So did you have any troubles last night, Dipper? You know, with the…sleeping arrangements.”

That was enough to make Dipper open his eyes, and he looked upside-down at the male playing cards. At least Bill provided his own segues.

“…Yeah, no. Everything was alright,” he answered softly, taking a glance around the room despite his knowing that Aaron was still out. “…That actually reminds me. Aaron talked with me today.”

Victoria opened her eyes now, turning her head to better look at Dipper laying down beside her, sprawled out on the bed as she leaned against the wall. He glanced down at her, or rather up, or something, taking note of her expression. It seemed she didn’t know Bill visited his dorm, nor talked to Aaron, and he was wondering if it was alright to bring up in front of her. It wouldn’t be this difficult to talk to Bill if they weren’t joined at the hip, or if Dipper had Bill’s number specifically. Maybe he should just visit him at his dorm room later for privacy.

“Oh?” Bill asked, obviously intrigued. “…And what did he have to say?”

“…Mm, not much,” Dipper said softly, blue eyes meeting his own brown ones as he chewed on his lower lip. “…Said someone came by and told him to cool it down with the girlfriend. It was…pretty random, apparently.”

Hearing Dipper vaguely describe what he did, Bill sat back and looked at Dipper, obviously taking note of how he wasn’t outright saying it was Bill so that Victoria wouldn’t be upset. At least Bill’s reaction gave Dipper the confirmation that Victoria didn’t know about any of this. Not from the horse’s mouth, at least.

“…Oh?” Bill returned, which caught the redhead’s attention more than anything. “Hm. Well hopefully that helped clear some things up.”

Returning back to his cards, all was silent between the three of them as they each continued to digest both their dinners and the awkward words shared between Dipper and Bill. It probably wasn’t even seven minutes before Victoria slid silently off the bed, careful to not mess up her boyfriend’s latest round.

“…Hey, Dip, I had a lot of fun,” she smiled back at Dipper. “…I gotta crash though. I’m just going to head back if that’s cool with you. Early morning, all that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Dipper said softly, beginning to roll over so he could properly show out his friends. Bill collected the cards to put back into a pile, until Victoria placed a hand on his elbow and made him look up.

“…It’s okay, I can find my own way home,” she said softly, a small smile on her face. “You can stay, but I gotta hit the hay, y’know? Thanks again, Dipper! We need to do this again soon, ‘kay?”

Dipper glanced at Bill before he looked back up at Victoria, his expression revealing he was nothing short of entirely confused. He still stood though, sliding off the bed to walk Victoria to the stairwell.

“Sounds good to me,” he said softly as he opened the door to lead her out. “I’m available…Tuesday, I think. I only have one class then, at 3. I think. I’ll double check and text you, okay?”

“…Sounds good, Dipper,” Victoria said softly, though Dipper believed the softness of her voice was only because it was so late. Time just seemed to fly when he was with Victoria and Bill, and it went from 7:32 to 11:54 in the span of ten minutes. Dipper was glad he at least had a wristwatch. Waving goodnight to the redhead, Dipper waited until he could hear she made it out of the building before he went back to his room to climb onto his bed and see if he could watch her go across the courtyard. He knew she was probably safe, but he still wanted to make sure she was alright. Dipper could practically feel Bill’s eyes boring holes into his back, but he just shrugged it off as best he could until he couldn’t see Victoria’s frame anymore.

“…Maybe I should text her and make sure she got home alright,” Dipper mused aloud softly, turning to see Bill was looking at his game. He could’ve sworn…

“…Nah, just lay back down. I got it,” Bill said as he placed the last king in his place. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone, taking a moment to type out a quick message to her before he leaned back in his chair. He could finally look at Dipper without being reprimanded for some reason by his girlfriend, but he found he just wouldn’t.

“…Alright, but let me know what she says,” Dipper compromised, laying back down on his back on his bed. It really was fairly comfortable, and there was room to spare with how elongated the beds were. Colleges had the weirdest beds. “I’m the Advisor, after all. I need to know stuff to then advise on.”

“…Why didn’t you tell Victoria that I came to your dorm?” Bill suddenly asked, folding his arms over themselves as he leaned on the bed beside Dipper. He looked down at the other, his eyes never leaving the brunet. Dipper peeked up at Bill through one hooded eye before letting it slip closed again as he relaxed. A small shrug was given as his answer, at least until it was clear that Bill was expecting words.

“I figured she didn’t know, I didn’t want her to get upset with you,” Dipper explained. “I mean, would you rather I have told her?”

“…Are you mad at me?” Bill asked instead, obviously avoiding the latter question as though it were never asked.

“…Why would I be mad at you?”

“…I sort of…stalked you, in a way, I guess. It was innocent though, I promise,” Bill hurriedly said, and Dipper opened his eyes to look up at the other. “…Not stalk-stalk, just sort of stalk. This is all coming out wrong. _I’m saying_ …it wrong. Not…anyway. It must have seemed kind of creepy, me asking around where you lived. I swear, it really was just to thank you for the breakfast. It’s just…when Aaron answered the door, suddenly everything just came flying out, and I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that with him. Sorry.”

Dipper listened to Bill explain everything, and couldn’t help but feel like there was something else just under the surface about all of this. He could see it in the way Bill was correcting his words, despite there not even being a need to correct them. Knitting his brows slightly, Dipper was really wondering why Bill was opening up suddenly. He didn’t even realize he didn’t give him a proper answer until the blond broke the silence that apparently had grown between them.

“…What are you thinking about?” Bill asked softly, since that question had been asked of him before. Dipper fought back a smirk, and settled it into a small smile.

“…How ridiculous you look as you fumble over your own words,” Dipper returned softly, raising a brow. That was enough to get a small laugh out of Bill, who then moved a bit so he was directly in front of Dipper with his arms crossed against the bed. Looking down into the brown eyes smiling up at him, Bill almost seemed to entirely change in that moment. He went from being relaxed and open to being closed and withdrawn, his usual neutral expression bearing down on Dipper.

“…What-“

“I have to go,” Bill suddenly stated, though he made no move to actually get up. Dipper looked up at him for a moment before he glanced to the side. Was he going to leave, or?

“…Okay?” Dipper said in a questioning tone. “…Can I ask why?”

“Yes. You can ask why,” Bill mumbled, rising up at last to replace the desk chair back to where it had been, and pull the cards back together into a neatly organized deck. Dipper rolled over onto his stomach and watched the other seem to find any excuse to not leave just yet.

“…You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Dipper said softly, wondering where any of this was even coming from. Bill paused and gave a silent sigh, straightening up to look down at Dipper.

“…I do, actually,” Bill returned, though not as harshly. “…I don’t think you’d understand.”

“Well, why don’t you try me? Maybe I can help?”

Just looking down at Dipper, the blond didn’t make a move. Dipper thought for a short moment that he’d gotten through to Bill, and that he was going to open up and let him in. After all, Dipper was one who wanted to help his friends. The guy had a pretty good heart. What he got as an answer though was definitely not what he was expecting. Dipper was in no way prepared for it, and as such, his lips parted to let his jaw slightly drop once the words entered his ears. That was a surprise.

“…I have to go have sex with my girlfriend.”

And with that, Bill turned and walked right out the door, leaving Dipper – once again – speechless. Bill seemed to do that a lot. How would Dipper not have understood that? Did Bill think he was gay too? What was with those two all of a sudden?

‘ _All of a sudden_ ,’ Dipper shook his head as he thought. ‘ _I’ve only known them three days. I don’t know anything about them. Maybe they’re just…in the market for gays or something. They’re really strange_.’

It was nearly impossible to do so, but Dipper eventually shrugged it off and got up to dispose of the pizza boxes and plastic cups in the communal kitchen, then went back to his dorm to close and lock the door. Aaron had a key to their room, so that wouldn’t be a problem for his roommate to gain entry again. Dipper just wanted to sleep. How was it that those two seemed to tire him out more within five hours than an entire day of studying? Dipper didn’t understand it.

He laid down in bed after he changed his clothes, though he soon found he just couldn’t get to sleep. It wasn’t that Bill’s words were weighing on his mind, since they weren’t, but it was the way Bill had been acting. On further remembrance, Bill just was always weird around him. Maybe he should bring along a friend the next time they hung out, and see if Bill was just as awkward. Maybe Aaron wouldn’t mind tagging along. Dipper wasn’t sure that was even a good idea, but he wanted to know what was happening that Victoria and Bill seemed to understand, even if the brunet was on the outside looking in. Maybe he’d stop by Bill’s dorm in the morning. If he wasn’t there, he’d leave a note. Or something.

Eventually, Dipper was able to get to sleep, though it wasn’t easy, nor was it restful. When he did wake up, it was 9 AM, and he felt like death. As was his habit, Dipper reached forward to flick through his e-mail on his phone, only to find he had a text from a new number.

_‘you busy today? maybe meet me at the trees, advisor?’_

_‘…this is Bill, by the way.’_

_‘…I might have forgotten to add that.’_

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bill is gay. He is very gay. Maybe not as gay as Dipper, but he's still pretty darn gay.


	5. Shadow Over Innsmouth

~

_‘sorry, I’m actually really busy today’_

Dipper hated lying, but he was tired and so much had happened in such a short amount of time. He stared at the text message for a good five minutes before he simply hit the send button and threw his flip-phone back onto his pillow. He had to focus on schoolwork anyway. Cracking open his textbook, Dipper set to work on studying before Monday, when he would take that Chemistry final. He wasn’t about to waste that extension he just barely managed to get.

Roughly five hours later, around 2 o’clock was when there was a hand rapping its knuckles on the frame of his open door, and Aaron glanced up from his laptop to see who it was. Dipper was laying on his back with his chemistry book propped up on his chest and hands, his reading glasses planted on the bridge of his nose. When Aaron didn’t say anything, Dipper finally turned his head and saw a familiar sight standing there in the doorway.

“…Bill?” Dipper questioned softly, his brows knitting slightly. “What’re you doing here?”

Apparently that wasn’t really the sort of reaction Bill was expecting, since the blond immediately went defensive.

“What, am I not allowed to come see you?” he countered, to which Aaron slapped his laptop shut and slid off the bed without a word. He was not dealing with this right now. Bill stepped to the side so Aaron could walk past him, and Dipper sat up on his bed before he set down his textbook. Clearing off a part of his bed littered with notes and pens and pencils, he leaned against the wall and pat the comforter beside him. Bill hesitated for all of three seconds before he finally crossed over and flopped down on the bed, instantly making himself at home.

“You can come see me, I’m just really busy,” Dipper explained, pulling the Chemistry book back into his lap to keep going. “My test is tomorrow, I got that extension you helped me with, and I’m not interested in failing it. What was so important, anyway? We can talk while I rewrite my notes.”

“Victoria broke up with me,” Bill shrugged, looking upside down at the brunet, who immediately turned his attentions back to Bill with a surprised expression. He had no idea that was even something that was possible. They seemed inseparable. Dipper’s previously furrowed brows raised in sympathy, but he really didn’t know what to say.

“…I’m sorry, Bill,” he ended up murmuring, closing his textbook yet again. “I want to ask questions, but I don’t want to pry. Do you want to talk about it? You have my attention now.”

Sitting cross-legged, Dipper shifted himself so he was sitting just above Bill’s resting head, looking down at the other as the silence hung between them. Dipper was all too aware of the stillness, but Bill didn’t seem to be too upset by it. He just laid there and looked up at the brunet with a blank expression. It was probably two minutes later that he finally spoke, shattering the quiet moment.

“No, I’d rather not talk about it,” Bill mumbled, his hands lacing on his chest. “I just wanted to tell you if you still wanted to be friends with either of us, it’s alright with me.”

“…Thanks,” Dipper nodded slightly, not really knowing why he needed Bill’s blessing when he hardly knew either of them. It had only been a few days they all knew each other, not years. Either way, Dipper supposed he appreciated it. He hardly had any friends to begin with, and it was nice to know he could keep the only two he had. Leaning back on one hand, Dipper ran a hand through his chocolate-colored hair and gave a silent sigh. Now it was just awkward. What could possibly be said after an introduction like that? He hadn’t known either of them for very long, so it wasn’t like he could really know how to comfort either of them. Dipper wasn’t at all interested in taking sides, especially when he knew absolutely nothing but the bare basics of their separation. And the bare basics was the simple fact that they were in fact separated. Dipper was at a loss.

“…Can I stay with you today?” Bill asked, his eyes never leaving the other. “Just until tonight. None of my friends are here. They all went out of state this weekend, so I don’t have anyone to distract me.”

“Oh, nice to know I’m your last resort,” Dipper chuckled, though he wasn’t offended.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Bill rolled his eyes. “I know you’re busy, I just didn’t want to be alone. I won’t make any noise. You can keep studying.”

Bill toed off his shoes and settled more into his spot, one leg crossing over the other. He continued to watch Dipper and his reactions, as though searching for something. Dipper supposed that something was approval, as it was the only thing that made any true sense. Though, did anything in these last few days make any sense?

“…That’s fine, but I can take a break from studying. I’ve been going since ten this morning,” Dipper shrugged, moving so he was lying down beside Bill. His hands went to lace under his head, which was right next to the blond’s waist. Dipper didn’t mind sparing time for Bill, since it was for something he obviously needed help through. “…What do you want to talk about?”

“Nothing in particular,” Bill admitted, staring up at the ceiling since he didn’t have a comfortable stance to stare at Dipper anymore. “…How’s school?”

“…Do we really not have anything else to talk about?” Dipper laughed softly with a small shake of his head. “It’s going fine. I don’t have as many classes left, I finished them early before finals. I’m so not ready for the new semester. Just one more, yeah? That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway.”

“You finished your classes early?” Bill quietly scoffed. “Wow, you really are a nerd. I’m almost embarrassed for you.”

“Hey!” Dipper laughed, nudging Bill’s hip with his elbow. “I’d rather have more time to focus on things that need my focus. Why would I not finish early? You just sound lazy to me.”

“Oh I’m very lazy,” Bill agreed with a nod. “Not when it comes to things that matter though. Most things are just so boring, I don’t want to do them.”

Dipper could understand that all too well. He gave a soft sigh, wondering what they could possibly talk about. If Bill didn’t want to talk about the breakup, Dipper could respect that. It just left a huge wall between them that the brunet didn’t necessarily know how to scale. After all, what could one say when one didn’t really know the other?

“…How’s your family?” Dipper asked instead, his eyes never leaving the ceiling. “I never hear you talk about them. Like, at all. Then again, it’s only been a few days we’ve known each other-“

“They died when I was young,” Bill shrugged, which cut Dipper right off. Silence returned for a good few minutes before Dipper could gather the grace to be able to resume basic functions.

“…I’m sorry, Bill,” he said softly. Bill just shrugged again, his face never changing its neutral expression.

“It’s fine. They died in a fire when I was six, and I was the only one to make it out,” he explained nonchalantly. Dipper was appalled. He could only imagine the sorts of guilt that would plague someone with that sort of background. No wonder Bill was so reserved. Dipper however, had absolutely no idea how to continue from that little explosion of information. The blond didn’t seem to mind at all, and just settled more into the bed after adjusting his position. Dipper rolled over onto his side to better look at the other, though the silence was deafening between them. All that could be heard was the collective breaths that seemed to sync up with one another.

“…You should study,” Bill reminded after a moment. “You have that test coming up. Don’t want to fail it, after all.”

“Y-yeah,” Dipper stuttered his response. He sat up and propped himself up on his elbow, just looking down at the strange man in his bed. Dipper didn’t understand Bill at all, and there was an equally great chance that Bill didn’t understand Dipper. There wasn’t much the latter could do about that, since he didn’t even understand a fragment of himself. It was always just better to ignore anything that seemed strange and try to live life. One of those strange things being his sexuality, which to Dipper, he had none. There was nothing going on. Ever. And the few times there was, he hated having to deal with it. He hated touching his own body whenever those particular urges came, but he dealt with it and wouldn’t have to deal with it for another few months. That was the only upside.

“…What are you thinking about?” Bill asked when Dipper seemed to be stuck inside his head again. “You haven’t stopped staring at me. It’s getting creepy.”

In reality, Bill didn’t think it was creepy at all, but it was worrisome when Dipper would say absolutely nothing and just examine Bill’s soul. He was hoping for a little bit of feedback.

“O-oh, I’m sorry,” Dipper apologized quickly, averting his eyes briefly. “I was just thinking of…things.”

“Things?”

“Yeah…things.”

“You keep astounding me with how much of an intellect you are. Especially because of your word choice. So descriptive.”

“Heavy things,” Dipper rolled his eyes, his lips curling into a smile.

“Oh, heavy things. Why didn’t you just say so?” Bill teased, gently papping Dipper’s knee with his wrist. “I’m joking. But seriously, you completely zoned out there. Do you do that often? Is that something I should look out for?”

Dipper gave a soft chuckle at the other’s supposed worrying, but he didn’t say anything more on the matter for a moment. He wasn’t sure how good of friends they were, anyway. At what stage of friendship does one talk of sexualities and orientations? Especially to get advice. Dipper wasn’t sure, since he himself wasn’t used to having friends. Not close friends like that. That was on an entirely different level.

“I don’t really zone out too often, I just have a lot to think about,” he shrugged, meeting Bill’s gaze once more. “And you’re one to talk. I catch you staring at me all the time.”

“Hey now, we’re not psychoanalyzing me, here,” Bill protested.

“Oh what, are we psychoanalyzing me?”

“Absolutely.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yes,” Bill replied easily enough. “Such as this experiment.”

“…What experiment?” Dipper asked hesitantly, though he didn’t move back when Bill sat up. They really were close, weren’t they? And not even in a friend way, but rather physical proximity. Had Bill always been wearing that cologne?

“What experiment do you think, Pines?” Bill breathed, and Dipper could feel the warm breath ghost over his face. He slightly shivered, though he still refused to let any distance between them. The confident blond gave a smirk as he was obviously pleased with the reactions he was eliciting. There was no warning, there was no build-up. Bill simply brought up a hand, and for a moment, Dipper thought Bill was going to either strike him or cup his face. As it was, there was a hushed silence between them as even their breaths hung in the air, and then the silence was broken.

Dipper didn’t even register what was happening before there was a hand on his waist, and he let out an automatic giggle when there were fingers prodding at his side. Instantly he was down for the count as he curled onto the bed, trying to protect his sides from the tickles. Laughing into the mattress, Dipper tried to deflect the hands wandering about his torso, poking and scritching at every soft spot he had on his abdomen. Bill was eventually satisfied after what felt like hours but was really only a few seconds, and retracted his hands to resume sitting peacefully on the bed while Dipper tried to catch his breath. Dipper couldn’t get up.

“Note to self: experiment was a success,” Bill grinned, lacing his hands over his own chest as he laid there, basking in his own glory. Dipper was red-faced and breathless, among other things. He wasn’t going to be sitting up for a while. “What, don’t tell me I broke you?”

Dipper just huffed as a response, his own hands going to rub the now slightly sore areas. He rolled onto his side and brought a bent knee forward, his eyes now trained on Bill’s hands.

“Was that really necessary?”

“More than you’ll ever know. You’ve done a great contribution to the furthering of science. For that, I thank you,” Bill grinned, moving so he and Dipper could look at each other easily enough. “I needed a distraction, and you’re really proving to be a good one.”

“So glad I could help,” Dipper snorted softly. “Tell that to my ribs.”

“Alright-“

“No, no don’t do that,” Dipper immediately revised, curling in on himself more. There wasn’t even the threat of more tickles and the brunet was already trying to fight the giggles.

“Conditioned response. Interesting,” Bill hummed, though he didn’t make any more moves. He simply laid there and watched the brunet compose himself again. It was really proving to be an excellent distraction to have Dipper spend time with him, even if there were short bursts of gentle torture. Bill was glad he chose to drop in on the brunet, despite the text subtly saying not to.

“So do you always randomly conduct experiments on your friends or what?” Dipper asked, relaxing only a small bit.

“Nah, you’re just lucky,” Bill grinned. “Now that I know you’re an excellent candidate for experiments, I’m going to be researching quite often.”

“…Okay that shouldn’t be scaring me as much as it is.”

Bill just gave a quiet laugh, shaking his head slightly. Dipper was too much. Bill honestly hadn’t even thought about how gay it must look for two young adult males to be tickling each other. Hopefully it wasn’t too gay since just one was winning.

“Are you busy tonight?” the blond asked softly, his smile forming more of a relaxed one. “Like I said earlier, I don’t really want to be alone. It’s okay if you’re busy, I was just wondering.”

Dipper straightened out and looked up at Bill, pausing for a moment before he shook his head.

“No, I’m not busy,” he murmured. It was obvious that Bill was looking for a friend, and Dipper didn’t mind being said friend. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I was wondering if we could maybe rent a movie and order out? I don’t know. I just don’t really want to see Victoria’s friends right now and I also don’t want to be alone,” Bill whined, a hand moving to thread through his blond locks. “I just also don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“No no, no inconvenience,” Dipper reassured with a smile. “That sounds perfect. Is there any movie you want to see that we can rent? It’s already about five-thirty, if you wanted to start an early dinner.”

“…I’d like that,” Bill nodded, sitting up to pull out his phone and look up his contacts. “I have this Chinese place on my fast-dial. Are you alright with Chinese? I can’t get enough of it. If you’d prefer something else though, I don’t mind.”

“Chinese is perfect.”

“You’re perfect.”

Dipper raised a brow at the returned quip, but was just met with a smirk and a wink as Bill brought the phone up to his ear. A few minutes later, and the order was in while Dipper brought up his laptop. Aaron and he were saving up for a TV to share, but kept having to splurge every now and then on textbooks. College liked to suck one dry like that.

Sitting at the head of the bed with his back to the wall, Dipper sat over more to the corner so Bill could have the outer side, and pulled up an internet-based movie website they could rent from. When the blond settled in beside the other to share lap-space for the computer, he scoffed at Dipper’s legal tendencies.

“You do realize we can watch any movie for free?” Bill grinned, his hands moving to type into the URL bar. Dipper immediately smacked his hands lightly, batting him away from the laptop.

“Yeah, and I’m not at all interested in malware,” Dipper replied.

“You just don’t know the websites to get onto,” Bill countered, though he retracted his hands to let Dipper do his thing.

“I’m not that well versed with the darkest recesses of the internet.”

“Oh, well you’re just in luck! I am.”

“That’s definitely worrisome.”

Bill snorted softly at Dipper’s skepticism. The brunet was absolutely adorable. And Bill needed to stop thinking about that.

“So what movie do you want to see?”

 

~

 

Roughly four hours later, and Dipper and Bill went through two movies and the entirety of their Chinese dinner, with the laptop sitting on one of both of their collective thighs. Dipper didn’t mind the closeness, and in fact found it a nice change of pace. Bill on the other hand, was lapping up the lack of distance the entire time, unbeknownst to the brunet. Letting out a quiet yawn, Dipper was getting tired, but he didn’t mind being there for his new friend.

“…You want to head to bed?” Bill asked softly, nonchalantly draping an arm behind Dipper to better hold the laptop steady, of course.

“Nah, not yet,” Dipper murmured with a shake of his head. He was very tired, but he didn’t want to skimp out when Bill needed him for comfort and movie watching. Dipper easily relaxed against the arm around him, and found it a lot easier to watch the small screen in front of them when his head was against Bill’s chest. The sleepy Dipper didn’t think anything of it when he rested his head there, especially when Bill didn’t react negatively. Bill actually didn’t react at all, and just held Dipper a little tighter. For his own protection, of course.

“You can take a nap if you want,” Bill offered quietly, turning his attentions from the laptop to the brunet laying against him. Dipper weakly nodded, already passing out. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll just stay the night. So you don’t have to worry about getting up or anything like that. Okay?”

“Mm’kay,” Dipper whispered. Bill reached forward with his free hand to mute the volume on the laptop so Dipper could sleep, and moved the computer onto his lap solely so Dipper could stretch out and relax. While Dipper didn’t move to relax into the bed, he did move to relax against the warm body beside him. He felt safe, and he felt allowance to actually do this and lay partially on Bill. Plus, Bill’s cologne smelled so nice. It would be a shame to not fully appreciate it.

Dipper passed out easily enough, and Bill closed down the laptop and set it off to the side so they could properly lay down. Feeling a hard item prodding into his back, Bill reached under his arched back to find Dipper’s flip-phone right there. He set it off to the side, on top of the closed laptop, then pulled the covers over him and Dipper. Aaron hadn’t come back yet, which was probably a good thing. Bill didn’t want to be the cause of rumors for Dipper, after all. He didn’t know how the brunet leaned. At the moment, it was on him, but that was probably just because Dipper was tired and didn’t understand what he was doing. Dipper was a very strange guy, and each action couldn’t really be looked too far into. Bill didn’t really know where he stood with Dipper.

Tucking the both of them in under the thin covers for spring approaching, Bill kept an arm around the brunet cuddled up against him. He didn’t sleep for a long time, but just enjoyed the innocent closeness they had. Dipper would be seeing a lot more of the blond now. Mostly just because Dipper was far too adorable for his own good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have made it a personal goal to see how gay I can make it before anything really gay happens. They're probably never going to kiss at this rate. I'm shooting for the stars here.


	6. The Raven

~

 

Everything was more or less peaceful in those moments leading to unconsciousness, and Dipper was not one to argue when it was time to sleep. Especially when he was in a warm bed under warm blankets, and leaning on something just as warm as himself. In the seemingly endless darkness behind his eyes, short bursts of scenes both ridiculous and emotional flashed before him and came to life in the plane of his mind. Dipper was carted off to a world where anything could happen, and the best scents were there to accompany his flight. Scents of a dark fragrance, almost unable to be placed surrounded him in the colorful wisps of his dreams. It was possibly the one night he truly slept soundly since arriving at the university. It would also be one night he wouldn’t be forgetting all too soon, regardless of how he had slept through it all.

When he finally did wake up, Dipper was his usual self: definitely not a morning person. Going as far as to even slightly groan when his alarm went off, the brunet’s free hand went to pat for his night table, but instead ended up just patting down a rather warm pillow. He scooted closer to try to get to the table, but felt himself stuck in his mattress, unable to get any closer to the edge. Just before his eyes opened tiredly, his hand was gently taken and his alarm stopped beeping. Bleary brown eyes blinked away the sleepies to his tear ducts, and glanced up in a sort of faded haze. Why couldn’t he move? What was holding his hand-

‘ _Oh_ ,’ Dipper quickly thought as he saw two blue eyes looking back down at him. He wasn’t entirely certain what this meant, but it took him a good few seconds of staring to realize it was Bill. When he eventually did realize who it was, he gave a small chuckle at himself for being silly. Here he had thought something entirely different had happened.

“…G’morn,” Dipper slurred on a whisper, his eyes slipping back shut as he rolled onto his back. His arm was still pinned underneath Bill’s head, which didn’t seem to be moving anytime soon. Dipper wasn’t exactly used to social interactions of this nature, but he definitely knew nothing happened last night that wasn’t meant to happen. There were no regrets on either party’s side for the cuddling. Dipper just didn’t read into it as much as Bill apparently was.

“Good morning,” Bill returned just as softly. Mostly he just wanted to be quiet so Aaron wouldn’t kick them out. It would serve the roommate right for keeping Dipper awake all those times, but now wasn’t the time for exacting revenge. “How did you sleep?”

The brunet weakly tried to reclaim his arm from beneath Bill’s neck, knowing that as soon as he regained control of it, it was going to be sorely asleep with pins and needles running rampant. Dipper eventually gave up when it was apparent that Bill wasn’t going to be relinquishing the limb anytime soon, and opened his eyes to slits to look over at the other from the corners of his eyes.

“…Pr’good,” Dipper answered quietly. “How ‘bout’ou?”

Bill snorted softly in response, but that was mostly just because Dipper sounded absolutely ridiculous when he was waking up in the morning. Eventually he just looked down at the other, finally lifting his head to let Dipper have his arm back. Letting go of the brunet’s other hand, the blond rolled more onto his side and properly looked down at the man beside him.

“I slept well,” he nodded, then reached forward to stop Dipper from fully taking back his arm. “Your alarm went off. Do you have something to do today? Classes? Homework?”

Dipper wasn’t awake enough to protest his arm being taken again, but even if he was, he would have immediately stopped once Bill began gently massaging the arm to ward off the pins and needles. It was enough to coax the brunet back into sleep. What felt like barely ten seconds later, Bill was back to trying to wake him, and Dipper softly groaned in response.

“…Dipper, stop falling asleep,” Bill chuckled, still trying in vain to wake up the sleepy brunet. “Why did your alarm go off? I don’t want you to be late to whatever it is.”

“Mphfurbuhn…” Dipper whispered, as though that were the answer to everything. He wiggled closer to Bill to stay warm, and to hopefully get more of that gentle massaging on his arm. Bill rolled his eyes, but couldn’t fight the small smile tugging at his lips.

“Dipper,” the blond almost scolded. It was enough to make Dipper whine again as his eyes barely opened, but he was gradually waking up again. It was a slow and horrible process, but was one that Bill found incredibly endearing. “Wake up for me?”

“…Y’demand t’much,” Dipper complained softly, but finally sat up to help speed up the process of waking up. Once he was sitting up properly, Bill rolled onto his back and let go of Dipper’s arm in favor of snaking a hand to the other’s back to soothingly rub circles there. He made sure to avoid the lower back, since that was possibly a little too intimate for the time being. Even if they had just shared a bed for the night, Bill didn’t want to push Dipper. One cuddle at a time.

“So where are you off to?”

“…I forget,” Dipper admitted, then clambered over Bill to get to his phone. There was no complaints beneath him, though there was a soft one when Dipper went back to sitting beside him. Scrolling through his phone, Dipper found the set alarm and could have smacked himself. He did rub his face, though that just made him sleepy again. “…I didn’t turn off my alarm. It’s for tomorrow.”

“You seriously woke us up for that?” Bill balked, then shook his head. “Fine. Come back to bed then.”

As if to make a point, Bill’s arms spread wide to accept Dipper into them. The brunet wasn’t that tired anymore, and was suddenly wondering why they were cuddling. Maybe he should get up. Bill might not have wanted to be this close to each other. They were pretty close. It was his bed though, so maybe that was why the blond was inviting him back. Maybe Bill didn’t want to kick Dipper out of his own bed. He shouldn’t read too much into that. Best to be polite.

“…I think I’m…just going to get up,” Dipper murmured, and slowly went to climb back over Bill. He didn’t get far before arms were wrapped around him, pulling him back down onto the mattress. Luckily Dipper didn’t let out the soft, surprised scream he wanted to, otherwise they would have been in a lot of trouble with Aaron. At the thought of his roommate being in the same room as them as they cuddled and possibly spooned, Dipper’s face lit up and was burning brightly.

“Aw, no need to blush,” Bill teased softly, laying on top of the smaller male. “You’re just really warm right now, and I don’t have class for another hour.”

Dipper didn’t think he would be able to handle an hour of this. Where was this coming from? Why was Bill suddenly so affectionate? He was like a giant cat that wanted nothing but cuddling, but it was out of nowhere. Dipper had no idea what was going on inside of Bill’s mind.

“…O-okay,” Dipper stuttered through a mumble, and let his eyes close so this wouldn’t be as awkward. Admittedly, it wasn’t helping all that much.

 

~

 

Dipper was absolutely adorable.

Laying on top of him so peacefully and so trusting in the darkness, Bill could hardly handle it. He slept probably all of forty minutes in total that night, but he didn’t care. He took to brushing away the chocolate-colored locks out of the brunet’s closed eyes, and simply threaded his fingers through Dipper’s hair to keep him asleep, and to maintain that silent contact. It was terribly intimate, and it was incredibly comforting. Bill let his head sink further into the pillow, and felt the warmth of Dipper’s hand underneath his neck. Dipper was definitely going to be in a world of pain in the morning once that arm moved, but that was something to think about later, not right now.

Bill’s eyes opened slightly when there was a sound just outside Dipper’s door, and he quickly closed them again to feign sleep when Aaron stepped in. The roommate was silent, and even stopped moving when he saw the two men sharing a bed. Bill thought he heard a click, and supposed it was just the door’s lock slipping into place before Aaron climbed into his own bed. That was the time that Bill truly fell asleep, but woke up while the moon was still pretty high in the sky to see the illuminated silhouette of Dipper sleeping at his side, with one arm lazily wrapped around his waist.

This was everything he had wanted. It felt right. Unlike when he would wake up to a woman beside him, Bill actually felt content in that moment to just be so innocently close to Dipper without having to prove anything.

Morning came all too fast, and even if it hadn’t, Dipper’s alarm certainly did. Bill made a face as he heard the beeping, and wondered if the brunet’s ancient technology would eventually stop on its own. What he got instead was a sleepy surprise pat-down, and couldn’t help but smirk. Taking Dipper’s hand, Bill used his free hand to switch off the alarm, and went back to looking down at the other. Dipper’s eyes were gorgeous as he first woke up, but they were gorgeous anyway. He was biased. He could admit that much. Bill couldn’t help but stare back at the smaller man, and grinned when Dipper randomly started to quietly laugh. Dipper was far too adorable.

One scene later, and Bill couldn’t take the distance anymore. His arms were firmly wrapped around Dipper’s waist, and he was effectively using his own body weight to pin him down. Bill wasn’t going to have an issue keeping Dipper down anyway, especially what with how sleight the brunet was, and how fit the blond was. It was an unfair advantage he was thankful for.

“…O-okay,” Dipper seemed to stutter, though it was masked thanks to the grumblings of a mumble. Bill shooed away any doubt or thoughts of letting go, and laid his cheek against Dipper’s brown hair.

“You’re really warm,” Bill murmured, almost as a praise. He nestled in more against Dipper, and silently laughed when that just seemed to make Dipper redder. Maybe it wasn’t healthy to be that shade, but it was definitely a trophy. It would be completely fine with Bill if they never moved again. What was the use of an education anyway, right? That was a horrible thought, but in that moment it seemed fair. Dipper was something he needed during that time, and Bill never wanted to let go again. There was a warmth permeating through his chest, and it wasn’t just because Dipper’s head was laying there. It was warm and soft, almost as though it were a glow that simply radiated from the brunet. Bill couldn’t get enough. As though they were adjoining tiles of a chess board – granted, they were polar opposites – there was something about the smaller male in his arms that made Bill feel as though he’d finally caught up with life, and was now enjoying even just the aspect of sporting bedhead for the rest of the day. It was innocent, it was sweet, and it was everything he’d ever denied himself.

Bill didn’t push these thoughts away this time, as there was no need to now. There was no false pretense to live up to in those waking moments of the morning. No standards to surpass, no averages to maintain. Bill could at least admit to himself that he found true happiness just lying there. As long as Dipper could breathe, there was absolutely no rush to get up.

“…Remind me to get you a heating blanket if I’m so warm,” Dipper teased after a long moment of what seemed to be surprise. Bill was definitely acting much bolder than he had been. He’d been so worried about the preconceived notions about his sexuality and how to uphold those thoughts in others, that he hadn’t even concerned himself with how Dipper must be viewing him. It was a double-edged sword, since he had managed to please the masses, but must have confused the daylights out of the one whose opinion mattered the most to him. Bill must have seemed insane. Even he himself didn’t know where he stood until that night. Now it was almost too much to recognize. Did Dipper know? How could he not now, considering they were cuddling fairly tightly, as well as having spent the night together. They may have not done anything immoral, but that didn’t change the fact that they were still awake and there was no more distance between them than when they were asleep.

“A heating blanket?” Bill chuckled, calming down against Dipper at last with a wide smile. “Why waste the money when I can just come over and bug you? I think that’s a much better idea. Don’t you?”

So maybe he was probing to see just how put-off Dipper was about this entire situation. Bill really must seem insane now. Dipper took his sweet time, all the while Bill’s heart was ready to pound right out of his chest. The brunet certainly seemed to know just how to take forever, didn’t he?

“…I suppose so,” Dipper murmured at last, not really giving indication either way. Still, it was far better than a flat-out ‘no.’ Bill couldn’t work with no consent. “Isn’t it sort of out of your way to come all the way over to my dorm though? Where do you stay anyway? I thought you lived off-campus.”

“I do,” Bill answered easily enough, finally loosening his grip on Dipper to a gentle hold. “I rent an apartment not too far from here. It’s probably a twenty-minute walk. It’s not that bad.”

“Ah.”

“Why? Want to come visit me sometime?”

“…Sure,” Dipper shrugged, which completely threw Bill off his guard, as if there was any built up.

“…Wait, really?”

“Yeah. I sort of want to see what your place looks like since you’ve obviously seen mine. It’s nothing too exciting over here, but maybe yours is more…I dunno. Thrilling?” Dipper shrugged yet again.

Bill couldn’t help but eventually find his smile again, then reclaimed his arms to prop himself up and look down at the other. Was Dipper being serious? He really wanted to go over to his apartment?

“Oh, it will be very thrilling,” Bill promised with a straight face. That lasted all of two seconds. “If you wanted, you can come over after you take that make-up test of yours and we can celebrate. It is sort of how we met, after all. What better way to spend a Monday, right?”

“Are you sure? I mean, I’d totally love to, but I don’t want to just barge in. Do you live with any roommates or anything?” Dipper asked, sitting up to relax more as he woke up. “I don’t want to intrude on them, you know?”

“I don’t have any roommates,” Bill replied, his eyes never leaving Dipper. “I live alone. I’d enjoy the company. I’ll make you dinner, if you want. Chinese is great and all, but I think we need something a little more substantial. Especially you. You’re sort of too thin over there.”

Dipper scoffed lightly, his lips showing hints of a smile. It just made Bill smile more.

“What? Don’t like cuddling with a skeleton?” Dipper teased.

“…I like the cuddling part. Skeleton? Not so much, no. You have a little bit more than a skeleton though, so I’m fine with making you suffer through my needs.”

“That sounds so much worse when you put it like that.”

“Good.”

Dipper rolled his eyes briefly, his smile widening even more. Bill finally stretched and sat up as well. He needed to go get his supplies for his class anyway. He didn’t exactly want to leave Dipper, but at the same time, he did need to actually pursue his education. A degree in criminal justice didn’t exactly happen overnight.

“Well, I’m going to head out, chemist,” Bill yawned. Slipping out of bed, he stretched one last time and turned to smile at Dipper. It was a truly genuine smile, one filled with thankfulness and happiness. It had been a while since he smiled like that. At least twelve years. “Thanks again for letting me stay with you yesterday. It was sort of a rough day, and it meant a lot that you put up with me. I’ll go easy on the experiments next time. Sound fair?”

Dipper snorted softly as he swung his feet to the side of the bed.

“Not exactly fair, but I’ll agree for now if that means I get a decent meal soon,” he chuckled, standing up to help escort Bill to the door. Dipper’s hair was ridiculously fluffy with that bedhead. “I’ll keep in touch and let you know how I did. Maybe no alcohol, if you don’t mind. I definitely don’t want to get wasted, since I have no idea what kind of drunk I’d be. I’m pretty sure I’m the ‘mom drunk.’”

Bill laughed at the thought of Dipper even slightly drunk, and suddenly greatly wanted to see that. He couldn’t help but imagine just how cute that would be. He would just have to make sure he himself stayed sober. One of them had to be in their right mind.

“Okay so, I definitely want that to happen now,” Bill grinned. “But I’ll respect that. Maybe next time. For now, it’ll just be water and _maybe_ some juice. If we’re feeling really risky that night. Sound alright?”

“Sounds perfect to me,” Dipper agreed, opening up the dorm room door for Bill. “Text me, yeah? I’m a horrible texter, but I’ll do my best.”

Nodding, Bill stepped through the doorframe and into the hall, glancing about to see who else was awake. It seemed to be just them for the time being. Bill was fairly thankful for that.

“I will. Feel free to text me too. It’s not like I’m doing anything exciting. I’ll see you Monday, chemist.”

With that, Bill shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out to the exit, stepping quickly down the winding staircase to head outside into the morning air. His heart was pounding and he couldn’t swallow down the idiotic grin staining his face. That had been the best night he ever had to date, and that included every single one night stand. Bill couldn’t ask for more. He hurried off to his apartment to collect his books and assignments.

 

~

 

Dipper leaned heavily against the door when he closed it again, breathing a small sigh of relief for the returned isolation. He didn’t mind the morning he just had, though it was strange. Dipper mostly just needed time to think; namely about the feelings he was suddenly having. It wasn’t really something he’d experienced since he was twelve. This couldn’t be the same thing though. It had to be something else. Something like a really great friendship.

 

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a small transition chapter set for lazy mornings. A little something to tide you over for something I'm planning. I'm definitely planning on continuing this until their graduation. Just two years away.
> 
> Tfw no motivation. I need more sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Tfw you wake up and have to write a College AU. The first chapters are always the hardest for me to write. What the hell.


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